Comparing Cognitive-Motor Interference across Younger, Middle-Aged, and Older Adults during Dual-Task Walking

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Neuroscience
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Cognitive-motor dual-task (DT) activities, like walking while talking, challenge attentional capacity and can increase fall risk.
• Aging may exacerbate difficulties in performing DT activities, impacting gait stability and cognitive function.
• Understanding age-related changes in DT performance is crucial for fall prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare cognitive-motor interference (CMI) and DT performance across younger, middle-aged, and older adults.
• To investigate how different types of memory tasks (encoding vs. retrieval) affect gait during DT walking.
• To identify age-specific patterns of CMI during complex cognitive-motor tasks.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study with 3 age groups: younger (25 yrs), middle-aged (56 yrs), and older (73.6 yrs) adults.
• Participants completed walking trials under single-task (ST) and four DT conditions involving memory encoding and retrieval tasks.
• Spatiotemporal gait parameters were measured using sensors, and DT effects (DTE) quantified CMI relative to ST performance.

Main Results:

• Aged individuals exhibited a trend of decreasing DT gait performance and worsening CMI with advancing age.
• Older adults showed significantly higher CMI on gait measures compared to younger adults across all memory tasks.
• Middle-aged adults displayed early deficits in gait during retrieval tasks, differentiating them from younger adults.

Conclusions:

• Age-related CMI is more pronounced in gait than in memory tasks, with DT performance declining incrementally with age.
• Older adults experienced greater gait interference during auditory processing demands in DT walking.
• Assessing DT walking from middle age is recommended to identify fall risks and implement early interventions like cognitive-motor training.