Relationship Between Modality-specific Dual-task Performance and Immersive Exergaming Outcomes in Healthy Athletes

Relationship Between Modality-specific Dual-task Performance and Immersive Exergaming Outcomes in Healthy Athletes

The goal of this clinical trial is to provide a more specific understanding of which dual task conditions elicit changes in either motor or cognitive performance. A dual-task is a simultaneously performed motor and cognitive task. Exergaming describes physically active gaming. The main questions the study aims to answer are:

• Can performance in visual and auditory dual-task paradigms explain performance in an immersive exergaming task in healthy athletes?
• How are exergaming scores associated with athletic performance tests?
• What biomechanical movement patterns are shown during dual-tasks? Researchers will also compare performance of those experienced with jumping and those inexperienced with jumping.

Participants will:

• Complete two sessions performing athletic performance tests, cognitive tasks, and different dual-tasks while their movement pattern is recorded
• Complete questionnaires on load, stress, and sleep during the sessions

The two sessions last each approximately 2 hours and take place within one to 12 weeks. Both sessions involve measurement of biomechanical movement patterns with motion capture.

Inclusion Criteria:

• age between 18 and 34 years
• self-reported recreationally or competitively active (more than 2 hours per week)
• self-reported ability to complete change of direction, balancing, and jumping tasks
• capacity to sign informed consent
• ability to understand German

Exclusion Criteria:

• acute injury in the last 6 months resulting in missing more than 3 training sessions
• severe comorbidity or condition which would prohibit performance of the lsted testing tasks
• self-reported pregnancy