title: Development of postural control during gait in typically developing children: the effects of dual-task conditions.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the typical development of postural control in younger (5-6 yrs) and older (7-16 yrs) children (YTD and OTD) during two gait tasks, including level walking and obstacle-crossing, using a dual-task paradigm, and to compare the results of the children's performance with that of healthy young adults (HYA). Our findings revealed that gait control in typical children requires attentional resources to maintain stability. Moreover, dual-task interference was less in HYA compared to YTD and OTD. Gait performance decrements in the dual-task context were greater in YTD compared to OTD, whereas cognitive performance decrements in YTD and OTD were similar. In addition, dual-tasking affected cognitive performance more in YTD when gait task difficulty was increased. Results suggest a developmental trend in attentional resources used to control gait in typical children. Postural control during gait under dual-task conditions was improved when children were more mature, as attentional resources increased with age.
authors: Department of Human Physiology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA. Sujitra.B@chula.ac.th
authors: Sujitra
authors: S
authors: Boonyong
authors: Ka-Chun
authors: KC
authors: Siu
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: van Donkelaar
authors: Li-Shan
authors: LS
authors: Chou
authors: Marjorie H
authors: MH
authors: Woollacott
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D012016:Reference Values; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis