title: Effects of gait and cognitive task difficulty on cognitive-motor interference in aging.
abstract: Although gait-related dual-task interference in aging is well established, the effect of gait and cognitive task difficulty on dual-task interference is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of gait and cognitive task difficulty on cognitive-motor interference in aging. Fifteen older adults (72.1 years, SD 5.2) and 20 young adults (21.7 years, SD 1.6) performed three walking tasks of varying difficulty (self-selected speed, fast speed, and fast speed with obstacle crossing) under single- and dual-task conditions. The cognitive tasks were the auditory Stroop task and the clock task. There was a significant Group × Gait Task × Cognitive Task interaction for the dual-task effect on gait speed. After adjusting for education, there were no significant effects of gait or cognitive task difficulty on the dual-task effects on cognitive task performance. The results of this study provide evidence that gait task difficulty influences dual-task effects on gait speed, especially in older adults. Moreover, the effects of gait task difficulty on dual-task interference appear to be influenced by the difficulty of the cognitive task. Education is an important factor influencing cognitive-motor interference effects on cognition, but not gait.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 6 Robinson Hall, Boston, MA 02115-5000, USA.
authors.forename: Prudence
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Plummer-D'Amato
authors.forename: Briana
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brancato
authors.forename: Mallory
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dantowitz
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Birken
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bonke
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Furey