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Updated: May 28, 2026
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Published on: October 5, 2020
Reliability of Behavioral and fNIRS Neural Responses: Assessments During Posture-Inhibitory Control Dual Tasking
Wan-Chun Su1,2, Tony George1, Marc H Bornstein1
1Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Neurosci
|May 27, 2026
Summary
Reliability of brain activity measures using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during posture transitions is variable. Findings support the Capacity Sharing Theory for dual-tasking, indicating shared resources between postural and cognitive demands.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Rehabilitation Science
Background:
- Posture-inhibitory control dual-tasking is essential for daily activities.
- Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is used to study dual-tasking neural mechanisms.
- Reliability of fNIRS during posture transitions is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the reliability of behavioral and neural measures during sit-to-stand transitions.
- To explore neural mechanisms of posture-inhibitory control dual-tasking.
Main Methods:
- Eighteen healthy adults performed tasks with varying postural and inhibitory demands.
- Cortical activation was measured using fNIRS before and after a sit-to-stand task.
- Behavioral reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation (ICC) and Pearson correlation (|r|).
Main Results:
- Cortical activation patterns varied with task demands, shifting from increased to decreased activation.
- Behavioral reliability ranged from poor to excellent (ICC: 0.24-0.95; |r|: 0.33-0.97).
- fNIRS measures showed poor-to-good reliability post-transition (ICC: <0-0.72; |r|: 0.02-0.79).
Conclusions:
- Findings support the Capacity Sharing Theory, indicating competition for shared resources between postural and cognitive tasks.
- Behavioral and neural measures exhibit variable reliability across posture transitions.
- Future research should consider postural changes when interpreting dual-tasking data.
