The effects of increased attentional demand on the perception of visual vertical

Balance and locomotion involve multi-sensory integration while meeting environmental demands. In addition, increased task complexity negatively affects postural control in aging and patient populations. The goal of this pilot study was to examine the effects of aging and cognitive load on the visual perception of vertical. Four young and 3 older individuals participated. Subjective visual vertical (SVV) performance deteriorated more in the older individuals as the task complexity increased. However, within group variability was high. The expected increase in sample size should further clarify the role of each sensory system in the perception of SVV.