Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 1, 2026
Dual-Task Stroop Paradigm for Detecting Cognitive Deficits in High-Functioning Stroke Patients
Published on: December 16, 2022
A preliminary study to identify locomotor-cognitive dual tasks that reveal persistent executive dysfunction after
Isabelle Cossette1, Marie-Christine Ouellet2, Bradford J McFadyen1
1Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Quebec City, QC, Canada; Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
Objective:
To identify different combinations of physical (level, obstacle avoidance, stepping down) and cognitive (visual, mental) demands within a locomotor navigational context that best discriminates between persons with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) and control subjects for an eventual clinical tool to assess residual executive dysfunction.
Design:
Group comparison study.
Setting:
Rehabilitation facility.
Participants:
Volunteer sample (N=14) of persons with MTBI (n=7) (6 women; age, 20±1.6 y) and a comparison group (n=7) of subjects without neurologic problems (6 women; age, 22.4±1.4 y).
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures:
Gait speed (m/s) and dual-task cost calculated as the relative change in gait speed from single (no cognitive task) to dual tasks for the same gait condition.
Results:
There were significant interactions between groups and cognitive tasks and between groups and cognitive and physical tasks for gait speed. Specifically, the MTBI group walked slower than control subjects in the dual-task conditions when stepping over an obstacle combined with each cognitive task. When gait speed was measured as dual-task costs, group differences were more evident, except for stepping down.
Conclusions:
These preliminary results suggest that both absolute gait speed and calculated dual-task costs during the combination of stepping over an obstacle with a simultaneous cognitive task are sensitive to revealing executive dysfunction in persons with MTBI. Gait speed can be easily measured in the clinic to provide important information to make diagnoses and decide about return to play or function. Continued work building on these preliminary results is needed toward the development of a clinical tool.
