Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026
Lower-Limb Biomechanical Characteristics Associated with Unplanned Gait Termination Under Different Walking Speeds
Published on: August 25, 2020
Gait performance is not influenced by working memory when walking at a self-selected pace.
Jordan Grubaugh1, Christopher K Rhea
1Virtual Environment for Assessment and Rehabilitation Laboratory (VEAR Lab), Department of Kinesiology, Health and Human Performance (HHP) Building, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1408 Walker Ave., Greensboro, NC, 27412, USA.
Healthy adults can simultaneously perform a working memory task and walk without impacting gait performance or cognitive function. The locomotor system demonstrates adaptability during dual-tasking scenarios involving walking and cognitive challenges.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomechanics
- Human Factors
Background:
- Gait performance variability, analyzed by detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), reflects functional ability and is affected by aging and disease.
- Many daily activities require concurrent cognitive and gait tasks (dual-tasking), with working memory commonly engaged during walking.
- The impact of taxing working memory on gait performance, as measured by DFA, remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether concurrent performance of a working memory task and walking leads to decrements in either task.
- To assess gait performance using DFA under single- and dual-task conditions.
- To evaluate working memory performance during dual-tasking with gait.
Main Methods:
- Healthy young adults (N=16) participated in single-task (working memory or gait) and dual-task conditions.
- Gait was assessed via treadmill walking at self-selected speed, analyzing stride interval time series with DFA.
- Working memory was evaluated using the automated operation span task, with performance metrics including score, speed, and error rates.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were found in gait parameters (mean, standard deviation, DFA α) across task conditions.
- Working memory performance metrics (absolute score, partial score, speed error, accuracy error, math error) also showed no significant changes.
- Dual-tasking with a working memory challenge did not compromise gait or cognitive performance.
Conclusions:
- The human locomotor system is sufficiently adaptive to maintain stable gait performance while simultaneously engaging in a working memory task.
- Dual-tasking a self-selected pace walk with a working memory challenge does not impair gait dynamics or cognitive function in healthy young adults.
- These findings suggest a high degree of independence between the neural control of gait and working memory under these specific experimental conditions.
