The "Stroop Walking Task": An innovative dual-task for the early detection of executive function impairment.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate a dual-task named the "Stroop Walking Task", which is similar to the task of making a decision of whether to cross a street based on a pedestrian traffic light.


METHODS
Fifty-one subjects (15 young adults, 21 subjectively healthy old subjects and 15 old subjects with mild cognitive impairment) had to respond to a visual signal (pictogram) with an appropriate motor response (walk or stop). We used an electronic walkway system to record the gait parameters and performed a cluster analysis on the obtained data.


RESULTS
This dual-task enables the early detection of executive function impairment with 89% sensitivity and 87% specificity.


CONCLUSIONS
The use of a dual-task that is inspired by an everyday event as an evaluation tool seems to facilitate the detection of ageing subjects' cognitive impairment, which is not detectable with traditional psychometric tests.
Laboratoire MObilité, Mouvement et Exercice (MOVE), EA 6314, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France; ISIS, Research Institute on Handicap and Aging, Paris, France. Electronic address: anaick.perrochon@unilim.fr.
A
A
Perrochon
Laboratoire MObilité, Mouvement et Exercice (MOVE), EA 6314, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France; ISIS, Research Institute on Handicap and Aging, Paris, France.
G
G
Kemoun
LAMIH UMR CNRS/UVHC 8201, université de Valenciennnes, 59313 Valenciennes, France.
E
E
Watelain
Laboratoire MObilité, Mouvement et Exercice (MOVE), EA 6314, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France.
B
B
Dugué
LPPA (Laboratoire de Physiologie de la Perception de l'Action), UMR CNRS 7152, Collège de France, 11, rue des Écoles, 75005 Paris, France.
A
A
Berthoz
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057190:Stroop Test; D016138:Walking / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
Double-tâche; Dual-task; Gait; Inhibition du pas; Inhibitory stepping; Marche; Mild cognitive impairment; Stroop test; Test de Stroop; Trouble cognitif léger