Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 15, 2025
Revised and Neuroimaging-Compatible Versions of the Dual Task Screen
Published on: October 5, 2020
Increased Auditory Dual Task Cost During Gait Initiation in Adult Patients With Persistent Concussion Symptoms
Kelsey N Bryk1, Scott Passalugo1, Li- Shan Chou2
1Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, DE; Biomechanics & Movement Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE.
Objective:
To compare dual task cost (DTC) during gait initiation (GI) between a population of patients with persistent concussion symptoms (PCS) and age-matched healthy participants.
Design:
Cohort study.
Setting:
University research center.
Participants:
A cohort sample including 15 participants with PCS (43.9±11.7y, 73.3% female) and 23 age-matched healthy participants (42.1±10.3y, 65.2% female) as controls.
Interventions:
Participants were tested on a single occasion where they performed 5 trials of single task and 5 trials of dual task GI with 12-camera motion capture and 3 force plates.
Main Outcome Measures:
The dependent variables of interest were the DTC for the center of pressure (COP) displacement and velocity during the anticipatory postural adjustment (APA) phase, the COP-center of mass (COP-COM) separation, and the response accuracy during the auditory cognitive tasks.
Results:
There were significant group differences with worse DTC for the PCS participants in anterior (A)/posterior (P) displacement (PCS, -37.5±22.1%; Control, -9.7±39.2%; P=.016, d=0.874), APA medial (M)/lateral (L) velocity (PCS, -34.8±28.8%; Control, -17.0±40.21%; P=.041, d=0.866), and the peak COP-COM separation (PCS, -7.3±6.7%; Control, 0.6±6.5%; P=.023, d=1.200). There were no significant group differences in the APA A/P velocity (PCS, -38.8±33.1%; Control, -19.8±43.9%; P=.094), APA M/L displacement (PCS, -34.8±21.8%; Control, -10.6±25.3%; P=.313), or cognitive task performance (PCS, -2.7±10.8%; Control, -0.2±4.3%; P=.321).
Conclusions:
PCS participants had greater (worse) DTC during both the planning and execution of the task, with large effect sizes (d>0.80). PCS participants also used a posture-second strategy whereby attentional resources were inappropriately allocated to the cognitive task. These deficits may challenge a patient's ability to complete activities of daily living and limit their functional independence.
