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Effects of Age on Dual-Task Walking While Listening
Victoria Nieborowska1,2,3, Sin-Tung Lau4,5, Jennifer Campos2,5,6
1a Department of Psychology , Concordia University , Montreal , Quebec , Canada .
Journal of Motor Behavior
|September 22, 2018
Summary
Older adults prioritize posture more than younger adults when walking and listening simultaneously, especially in unpredictable environments. This dual-tasking affects older adults
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Neuroscience
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Aging impacts cognitive and motor functions, affecting performance in dual-task scenarios.
- Understanding age-related differences in dual-tasking is crucial for fall prevention and mobility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how age influences listening and walking performance during a virtual street-crossing task.
- To determine if older adults prioritize postural stability over auditory processing under dual-task conditions.
Main Methods:
- Seventeen younger and 12 older adults performed single- and dual-task listening and walking.
- Auditory stimuli involved sentence recognition with varying location predictability.
- Treadmill walking was assessed using motion analysis for gait parameters and head/trunk angles.
Main Results:
- Older adults showed more upright head alignment and reduced stride time variability during dual-tasking.
- These postural adjustments in older adults were more pronounced with unpredictable auditory cues.
- Younger adults' walking performance was not significantly affected by dual-task demands.
Conclusions:
- Older adults exhibit greater postural prioritization during combined listening and walking tasks compared to younger adults.
- This suggests a shift in resource allocation towards maintaining balance in older individuals when facing complex sensory environments.
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