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Published on: July 16, 2015
Postural prioritization is differentially altered in healthy older compared to younger adults during visual and
Matthew B Liston1, Jeroen H Bergmann, Niamh Keating
1Centre of Human and Aerospace Physiological Sciences, School of Biomedical Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Gait & Posture
|July 30, 2013
Summary
Older adults prioritize cognitive tasks over spatial navigation tasks when performing dual-tasking, unlike younger adults who prioritize posture. This shift in strategy may impact balance control in older individuals.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Human Factors Engineering
Background:
- Effective dual-tasking, balancing attention between postural and cognitive demands, is crucial for daily activities like road crossing.
- Spatial information processing across multiple sensory modalities is vital for safe navigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how aging affects postural prioritization during dual-tasking with spatially relevant information presented through different sensory modalities.
- To compare dual-task costs and strategy adoption between older and younger adults using a novel bimodal spatial multi-task test.
Main Methods:
- A bimodal spatial multi-task test was administered to 15 healthy older adults (mean age 78.3) and 20 younger adults (mean age 25.3).
- Participants completed a visually coded spatial step navigation task (VS) and an auditory-coded spatial congruency task (AS) independently and in combination.
- Response time, accuracy, and dual-task costs were measured to assess performance and prioritization strategies.
Main Results:
- A significant three-way interaction revealed older adults performed worse than younger adults on both response time and accuracy.
- Older adults exhibited greater dual-task costs for the VS task, indicating prioritization of the AS task.
- Younger adults showed greater dual-task costs for the AS task, suggesting a 'posture first' strategy.
Conclusions:
- Novel dual-modality spatial testing reveals age-related differences in attentional allocation and postural prioritization strategies.
- Older adults may adopt non-traditional 'cognitive first' strategies, potentially impacting balance control.
- Findings highlight the need to understand shifting prioritization in aging populations for fall prevention and mobility.
