Impact of age and obstacles on navigation precision and reaction time during blind navigation in dual-task conditions.
Navigation without vision is a skill that is often employed in our daily lives, such as walking in the dark at night. Navigating without vision to a remembered target has previously been studied. However, little is known about the impact of age or obstacles on the attentional demands of a blind navigation task. This study examined the impacts of age and obstacles on reaction time (RT) and navigation precision during blind navigation in dual-task conditions. The aims were to determine the effects of age, obstacles, and auditory stimulus location on RT and navigation precision in a blind navigation task. Ten healthy young adults (24.5±2.5 years) and ten healthy older adults (69.5±2.9 years) participated in the study. Participants were asked to walk to a target located 8m ahead. In half the trials, the path was obstructed with hanging obstacles. Participants performed this task in the absence of vision, while executing a discrete RT task. Results demonstrated that older adults presented increased RT, linear distance travelled (LDT), and obstacle contact; that obstacle presence significantly increased RT compared to trials with no obstacles; and that an auditory stimulus emitted early versus late in the path increased LDT. Results suggest that the attentional demands of blind navigation are higher in older than young adults, as well as when obstacles are present. Furthermore, navigation precision is affected by age and when participants are distracted by the secondary task early in navigation, presumably because the secondary task interferes with path estimation.
University of Ottawa, Health Sciences, School of Human Kinetics, 200 Lees Avenue, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5S9. Electronic address: nricher@uottawa.ca.
Natalie
N
Richer
University of Ottawa, Health Sciences, School of Rehabilitation, 451 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1H 8M5. Electronic address: npaquet@uottawa.ca.
Nicole
N
Paquet
University of Ottawa, Health Sciences, School of Human Kinetics, 125 University Street, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5. Electronic address: ylajoie@uottawa.ca.
Yves
Y
Lajoie
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003624:Darkness; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009949:Orientation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D012683:Sensory Deprivation / Q000502:physiology*; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014785:Vision, Ocular; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
Ageing; Attentional demands; Navigation; Obstacles; Reaction time