Maclean, L.M., Brown, L.J.E., Khadra, H. et al. (1 more author) (2017) Observing prioritization effects on cognition and gait: The effect of increased cognitive load on cognitively healthy older adults’ dual-task performance. Gait and Posture, 53. pp. 139-144. ISSN 0966-6362
Abstract
Previous studies exploring the effects of attention-prioritization on cognitively healthy older adults’ gait and cognitive dual task (DT) performance have shown DT cost in gait outcomes but inconsistent effects on cognitive performance, which may reflect task difficulty (the cognitive load). This study aimed to identify whether changing the cognitive load during a walking and counting DT improved the challenge/sensitivity of the cognitive task to observe prioritization effects on concurrent gait and cognitive performance outcomes. Seventy-two cognitively healthy older adults (Mean = 73 years) walked 15 m, counted backwards in 3 s and 7 s as single tasks (ST), and concurrently walked and counted backwards as DTs. Attention-prioritization was examined in Prioritizing Walking (PW) and Prioritizing Counting (PC) DT conditions. Dual-task performance costs (DTC) were calculated for number of correct cognitive responses (CCR) in the counting tasks, and step-time variability and velocity in the gait task. All DT conditions showed a benefit (DTB) for cognitive outcomes with trade-off cost to gait. In the Serial 3 s task, the cognitive DTBs increased in PC over the PW condition (p < 0.05), with a greater cost to walking velocity (p < 0.05). DT effects were more pronounced in the Serial 7 s with a lower cognitive DTB when PC than when PW, (p < 0.05) with no trade-off increase in cost to gait outcomes (p < 0.05). The findings suggest that increased cognitive load during a gait and cognitive DT produces more pronounced gait measures of attention-prioritization in cognitively healthy older adults. A cognitive load effect was also observed in the cognitive outcomes, with unexpected results.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 Elsevier B.V. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Gait and Posture. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Older adults; Attention-prioritization; Dual-task; Cognitive load |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Health and Related Research (Sheffield) > ScHARR - Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 29 Jan 2020 14:10 |
Last Modified: | 29 Jan 2020 14:10 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2017.01.018 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:155987 |
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