Dual tasking negatively impacts obstacle avoidance abilities in post-stroke individuals with visuospatial neglect:...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Rehabilitation Science
• Human Movement Science

Background:

• Stroke survivors with visuospatial neglect (VSN) face collision risks when walking near moving obstacles.
• Dual-tasking attentional demands can worsen obstacle avoidance in VSN individuals, increasing collision risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare obstacle negotiation and dual-tasking abilities in stroke survivors with (VSN+) and without (VSN-) visuospatial neglect.
• To assess the impact of dual-tasking on locomotor and cognitive performance in VSN+ and VSN- individuals.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-six stroke survivors (13 VSN+, 13 VSN-) performed single-task walking, a cognitive task, and a dual task involving both.
• Locomotor outcomes (collision rates, minimum distance, strategy onset) and cognitive outcomes (error rates) were compared between groups.

Main Results:

• VSN+ individuals exhibited higher collision rates during both single and dual-task walking compared to VSN- individuals.
• Dual-tasking significantly impaired locomotor and cognitive performance in VSN+ individuals.
• VSN- individuals prioritized locomotor safety, maintaining collision rates but showing increased cognitive errors.

Conclusions:

• Visuospatial neglect leads to significant cognitive-locomotor interference under dual-task conditions.
• This interference poses serious safety risks for community ambulation in VSN individuals.
• Cognitive-locomotor interference may contribute to the limited recovery of independent community ambulation observed in VSN survivors.