title: Dual-task effects of spontaneous speech and executive function on gait in aging: exaggerated effects in slow walkers.
abstract: This study compared the effects of spontaneous speech and executive function on gait and investigated the effects of single-task gait speed on dual-task costs. Twenty-one older adults (74.7 years, SD 5.9) and 23 younger adults (22 years, SD 1.2) walked for 60s while performing an auditory Stroop task and a spontaneous speech task; they also performed each task in isolation. Walking while talking significantly reduced gait speed in both groups; however, only older adults experienced significant cognitive-motor interference during the Stroop task. Stride duration variability and gait symmetry were also affected by the speech task in older but not younger adults. Dual-task costs on gait speed were greater in slow-walking older adults than fast walkers. These results demonstrate that spontaneous speech is a highly demanding task that has a profound impact on gait in older adults, especially those with gait speed <1 m/s.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, 6 Robinson Hall, Boston, MA 02115-5000, United States. pplummer@neu.edu
authors.forename: Prudence
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Plummer-D'Amato
authors.forename: Lori J P
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Altmann
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Reilly
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult