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Stepping and tapping: combining motor tasks improves cognitive classification
Kaylee D Rudd1, Michele L Callisaya2,3, Katherine Lawler1,4
1Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania, 17 Liverpool Street, Hobart, TAS, 7000, Australia.
Geroscience
|May 8, 2025
Summary
Combining gait and key-tapping measures improves the classification of dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). These motor functions correlate and offer distinct insights into cognitive decline, aiding in earlier detection.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Gait and key-tapping are independently linked to cognitive impairment, including mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia.
- The correlation between these specific motor functions and their combined diagnostic utility for cognitive impairment remains under-explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlation between gait and key-tapping measures.
- To assess if combining these motor measures enhances the classification accuracy of dementia, MCI, and subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) compared to individual measures or demographic factors.
Main Methods:
- Recruited participants with dementia, MCI, SCI, and healthy controls (HC).
- Assessed fast-paced gait and key-tapping using electronic walkway and keyboard, analyzing speed, frequency, variability, and contact.
- Employed Pearson's correlation for motor measure associations and receiver-operating-characteristic curves (AUC) for classification accuracy analysis.
Main Results:
- Gait and key-tapping measures showed moderate correlations.
- Combined gait and key-tapping speed significantly improved classification accuracy for dementia (AUC .97) and MCI (AUC .91) compared to gait alone or demographic models.
- Motor measures were associated with specific dementia types (Alzheimer's vs. vascular) and MCI subtypes (non-amnestic).
Conclusions:
- Gait and key-tapping measures are correlated but capture different aspects of motor-cognitive associations.
- Combining gait and key-tapping measures enhances the classification of dementia and MCI, suggesting their value in objective cognitive assessment.
- These findings support further investigation into combined motor assessments for understanding and diagnosing cognitive impairment.
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