Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026
Motor Dual-Tasks for Gait Analysis and Evaluation in Post-Stroke Patients
Published on: March 11, 2021
Walking execution is not affected by divided attention in patients with multiple sclerosis with no disability, but
Leandro Alberto Calazans Nogueira1, Luciano Teixeira Dos Santos, Pollyane Galinari Sabino
1Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurologia, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
Purpose:
We analysed the cognitive influence on walking in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, in the absence of clinical disability.
Method:
A case-control study was conducted with 12 MS patients with no disability and 12 matched healthy controls. Subjects were referred for completion a timed walk test of 10 m and a 3D-kinematic analysis. Participants were instructed to walk at a comfortable speed in a dual-task (arithmetic task) condition, and motor planning was measured by mental chronometry.
Results:
Scores of walking speed and cadence showed no statistically significant differences between the groups in the three conditions. The dual-task condition showed an increase in the double support duration in both groups. Motor imagery analysis showed statistically significant differences between real and imagined walking in patients.
Conclusion:
MS patients with no disability did not show any influence of divided attention on walking execution. However, motor planning was overestimated as compared with real walking.
