Dual task performance within a functional virtual environment

Most daily occupations require the ability to perform two or more activities simultaneously (i.e. dual tasking) while adapting to unexpected changes in the environment. When a person has neurological deficits, this ability is usually impaired. Moreover, recent evidence supports a relationship between executive function deficits and dual task performance. Most of the studies that examine the effect of dual tasking on motor and cognitive aspects simultaneously have not been performed in ecological environments and have not examined the effect of different types of perturbations on performance. The purpose of this paper is to present the feasibility of using advanced technology of virtual reality (VR) to identify the neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie dual task performance within a functional virtual environment in people who have executive function deficits. The participants will be tested for their balance, gait and arm functions as they walk in a virtual supermarket, performing tasks at different levels of complexity which require the use of executive functions. The results will increase our knowledge of human performance during multiple task accomplishment in ecologically valid environments.