PMID: 31370032Aug 2, 2019Paper

Long-term Tai Chi Training Is Associated With Better Dual-task Postural Control and Cognition in Aging Adults

Advances in Mind-body Medicine
Azizah Jor'danPeter M Wayne

Abstract

Many activities within our daily lives require us to stand upright while concurrently performing a cognitive task (ie, dual tasking). The "costs" of dual tasking can present as a detriment to either task, or even both. Evidence supports that tai chi (TC), a mind-body exercise, improves both postural control and cognition. The purpose of this study was to (1) determine whether long-term TC training reduces dual-task costs to standing postural control, and (2) determine whether it characterizes the relationship between these costs and cognition in aging adults with and without long-term TC training. Twenty-six TC experts (age 63 ± 8 y, TC experience 24 ± 11 y) and 60 controls (TC naïve: age 64 ± 8 y) were studied. Center-of-pressure sway speed and elliptical area were recorded during quiet and dual-task standing. In addition, postural sway speed and range were analyzed in the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral direction. Dual-task cost was calculated as the percent change in center-of-pressure outcomes from quiet to dual-task conditions. Cognition was assessed with the digit span (verbal memory), trail making test (working memory and task switching ability), category naming (semantic verbal fluency), and F-A-S test (phonemic v...Continue Reading

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