Presenter Biography

Bryana Popa is a student at Portland State University pursuing a pre-physical therapy track and majoring in Health Sciences. She is a Build Exito Scholar which lead her to work at the Balance Disorders Lab at Oregon Health and Science University.

Institution

PSU

Program/Major

School of Public Health/ Health Sciences

Degree

BS

Presentation Type

Poster

Room Location

Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 296/8

Start Date

April 2019

End Date

April 2019

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/30982

Abstract

Visual exploration of the environment is vital for safe and effective walking, and is influenced by cognitive load. Eye movement deficits can occur following mTBI and may impact visual exploration when walking, leading to issues with mobility. This study aims to examine visual exploration when walking under single and dual-task in mTBI and controls.

Sixteen people with mTBI (Age: 30.1±12.8 yrs, days since injury: 39.5±21.7) and 10 healthy controls (Age: 26.3±5.2 yrs) walked for 1 minute while wearing a mobile eye tracker under single and dual-task conditions. The primary outcome was visual exploration measured by saccade frequency (sacc/sec). Secondary outcomes were saccade velocity and fixation duration.

Saccade frequency was slightly reduced in mTBI versus controls when walking and turning during dual-task (DT) (mTBI; DT walking: 1.1±0.37, DT turning: 1.2±0.40, control; DT walking: 1.2±0.39, DT turning: 1.4±0.36). Saccade velocity, during static testing, was greater for controls during horizontal (HS) and vertical saccades (VS) (mTBI; static HS: 665.83±51.13, static VS: 611.06±64.22, control; static HS: 676.36±61.44, static VS: 640.61±40.22). Fixation duration was greater for controls during dual-task turning (mTBI; DT walking: 0.152±0.03, DT turning: 0.148±0.03, control; DT walking: 0.151±0.03, DT turning: 0.172±0.04). These preliminary results indicate that visual exploration and other eye movement characteristics when walking may be impacted by mTBI. Future work will examine results in a larger cohort.

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Apr 3rd, 2:00 PM Apr 3rd, 3:00 PM

A Visual Exploration of Walking in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI)

Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 296/8

Visual exploration of the environment is vital for safe and effective walking, and is influenced by cognitive load. Eye movement deficits can occur following mTBI and may impact visual exploration when walking, leading to issues with mobility. This study aims to examine visual exploration when walking under single and dual-task in mTBI and controls.

Sixteen people with mTBI (Age: 30.1±12.8 yrs, days since injury: 39.5±21.7) and 10 healthy controls (Age: 26.3±5.2 yrs) walked for 1 minute while wearing a mobile eye tracker under single and dual-task conditions. The primary outcome was visual exploration measured by saccade frequency (sacc/sec). Secondary outcomes were saccade velocity and fixation duration.

Saccade frequency was slightly reduced in mTBI versus controls when walking and turning during dual-task (DT) (mTBI; DT walking: 1.1±0.37, DT turning: 1.2±0.40, control; DT walking: 1.2±0.39, DT turning: 1.4±0.36). Saccade velocity, during static testing, was greater for controls during horizontal (HS) and vertical saccades (VS) (mTBI; static HS: 665.83±51.13, static VS: 611.06±64.22, control; static HS: 676.36±61.44, static VS: 640.61±40.22). Fixation duration was greater for controls during dual-task turning (mTBI; DT walking: 0.152±0.03, DT turning: 0.148±0.03, control; DT walking: 0.151±0.03, DT turning: 0.172±0.04). These preliminary results indicate that visual exploration and other eye movement characteristics when walking may be impacted by mTBI. Future work will examine results in a larger cohort.