Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Balance is an important requirement for many of our daily activities. Little thought is normally given as to how we control balance until a problem emerges or until we are faced with a challenging movement situation where balance is critical. One reason for this is that the control of balance is thought to be a relatively automatic process normally carried out without much cognitive or conscious involvement. However, recent work suggests that, in certain situations, cognitive processes combine with these more automatic processes to modify how balance is maintained. Despite this evidence, the precise role of the cognitive involvement in the control of balance and the factors that contribute to a shift to this type of control are not well understood. Research has shown that fear and other emotions can modify balance control. There is some research to suggest that changes in balance observed in fearful situations can be attributed to changes in physiological factors (e.g., increased arousal) associated with the fear response. However, there is also some evidence to suggest that fear acts as a determinant for shifting between more automatic and more conscious control of balance with this different type of control resulting in the changes to balance. The proposed research will provide insight into the interplay between the emotional, cognitive, and sensory-motor systems, underlying balance control. The information from this research is important to provide direction for understanding and treating impairments in the performance of tasks that require balance when carried out under fearful conditions. For example, instructing individuals to re-focus cognitive resources when maintaining balance under fearful conditions may benefit performance. This knowledge will be relevant to many disciplines, including for example, ergonomics (e.g., construction workers), sport (e.g., divers) and rehabilitation (e.g., older adults and individuals with balance problems).