Evaluating the Spectrum of Cognitive-Motor Relationships During Dual-Task Jump Landing

Abstract

Cognitive function plays a role in understanding noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries, but the research into how cognitive function influences sport-specific movements is underdeveloped. The purpose of this study was to determine how various cognitive tasks influenced dual-task jump-landing performance along with how individuals’ baseline cognitive ability mediated these relationships. Forty female recreational soccer and basketball players completed baseline cognitive function assessments and dual-task jump landings. The baseline cognitive assessments quantified individual processing speed, multitasking, attentional control, and primary memory ability. Dual-task conditions for the jump landing included unanticipated and anticipated jump performance, with and without concurrent working memory and captured visual attention tasks. Knee kinematics and kinetics were acquired through motion capture and ground reaction force data. Jumping conditions that directed visual attention away from the landing, whether anticipated or unanticipated, were associated with decreased peak knee flexion angle (P < .001). No interactions between cognitive function measures and jump-landing conditions were observed for any of the biomechanical variables, suggesting that injury-relevant cognitive-motor relationships may be specific to secondary task demands and movement requirements. This work provides insight into group- and subject-specific effects of established anticipatory and novel working memory dual-task paradigms on the neuromuscular control of a sport-specific movement.

Influence of Fatigue on Cognitive-Motor Function During Unanticipated Landings

“…An a priori power analysis was conducted using GLIMMPSE (Version 3.0, SampleSizeShop.org) to obtain 80% statistical power to detect differences during unanticipated landing tasks for selected dependent variables (knee flexion angle, abduction angle and moment) with a repeated-measures design using the Hotelling-Lawley trace test, revealing a convenience sample size of 22 (see Appendix Table A1 and the GLIMMPSE supplement for means and standard deviations used in the power analysis, available in the online version of this article). 1,24,33 Eligibility criteria were as follows: age 18 to 35 years; self-reported Tegner activity score of ≥5; self-report of being recreationally/competitively active in sports involving jumping, running, and cutting; and ability to perform these tasks without any pain or discomfort. 16 Exclusion criteria were as follows: a history of lower extremity surgery and a concussion or lower extremity injury within 6 months of study participation.…”

“…17 Reflective markers were attached to the participants’ anatomic landmarks using a modified plug-in gait marker set. 17,24 Additional tracking markers were positioned on the shoes above the first metatarsal head and the lateral side of the calcaneus. The medial femoral epicondyle and medial malleoli markers were then removed after recording a standing trial for calibration purposes.…”

“…Before starting the actual protocol, each participant performed a standardized warm-up, including 2 sets of 8 body-weight squats, 5 countermovement jumps (CMJs), and a 20-second step on a 30-cm box at a preferred pace. 24,37…”

“…Baseline raw scores were also normalized by subtracting the mean and dividing by the standard deviation. 24 For the normalized scores, higher values correspond to faster times (for RT) and improved accuracy (for AC). The baseline-normalized raw scores were then averaged between tests for a given cognitive domain to obtain composite scores for RT and AC.…”

Changes in dual-task cognitive performance elicited by physical exertion vary with motor task

“…Dual-task assessments are frequently used to identify deficits in cognitive performance associated with concussion and musculoskeletal injury risk ( 1 – 3 ). Dual-task paradigms involve two behaviors performed concurrently, most often a cognitive task paired with a motor task.…”