Cognitive Task Domain Influences Cognitive-Motor Interference during Large-Magnitude Treadmill Stance Perturbations

Reactive balance is postulated to be attentionally demanding, although it has been underexamined in dual-tasking (DT) conditions. Further, DT studies have mainly included only one cognitive task, leaving it unknown how different cognitive domains contribute to reactive balance. This study examined how DT affected reactive responses to large-magnitude perturbations and compared cognitive-motor interference (CMI) between cognitive tasks. A total of 20 young adults aged 18-35 (40% female; 25.6 ± 3.8 y) were exposed to treadmill support surface perturbations alone (single-task (ST)) and while completing four cognitive tasks: Target, Track, Auditory Clock Test (ACT), Letter Number Sequencing (LNS). Three perturbations were delivered over 30 s in each trial. Cognitive tasks were also performed while seated and standing (ST). Compared to ST, post-perturbation MOS was lower when performing Track, and cognitive performance was reduced on the Target task during DT (p < 0.05). There was a larger decline in overall (cognitive + motor) performance from ST for both of the visuomotor tasks compared to the ACT and LNS (p < 0.05). The highest CMI was observed for visuomotor tasks; real-life visuomotor tasks could increase fall risk during daily living, especially for individuals with difficulty attending to more than one task.