Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026
The Immersive Cleveland Clinic Virtual Reality Shopping Platform for the Assessment of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living
Published on: July 28, 2022
Dual-task gait assessment using n-back testing during self-paced treadmill walking in virtual reality: reliability
Mohammad Al-Amri1,2, Rula Abdallat2, Abdulrhman Mashabi3
1School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
Background:
Dual-task gait paradigms are widely used to assess cognitive-motor integration, however considerable methodological heterogeneity remains. Fixed-speed locomotion and limited assessment of repeatability have contributed to inconsistent baseline findings in healthy adults, complicating interpretation of dual-task effects reported in clinical populations.
Objective:
This study aimed to examine the reliability and baseline gait behaviour associated with a dual-task paradigm combining non-immersive virtual reality (VR)-based self-paced treadmill walking and parametrically modulated working memory load. The purpose was to establish a robust reference profile in healthy adults to support subsequent clinical and reliability and baseline characterisation studies.
Methods:
Twenty-three healthy adult males (34.56 ± 5.12 years) completed two gait assessment sessions using a self-paced treadmill within a non-immersive VR environment. Walking was assessed under three conditions: single-task walking, dual-task walking with a 1-back task, and dual-task walking with a 2-back task. Spatiotemporal gait parameters and dual-task costs were analysed across sessions and task conditions to evaluate between-session consistency and sensitivity to graded cognitive demand.
Results:
Most spatiotemporal gait parameters demonstrated good consistency between sessions, with no statistically significant differences observed across days or task conditions (p ≥ 0.05). A reduction in step length was observed during dual-task walking in the first session (p = 0.02), alongside consistent directional modulation of stride-related measures with increasing cognitive load. These changes were modest and consistent with adaptive gait regulation in neurologically intact adults.
Conclusion:
The findings demonstrate that a self-paced treadmill VR dual-task gait protocol yields stable and repeatable gait measures following familiarisation in healthy adults. Rather than establishing criterion validity, this study provides baseline characterisation and reliability evidence necessary for future work evaluating clinical sensitivity, diagnostic utility, and intervention responsiveness in patient populations.
