Gait & Posture ( IF 2.4 ) Pub Date : 2021-01-14 , DOI: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2021.01.012 Nicholas J Smeeton 1 , James Wrightson 2 , Matyas Varga 1 , Rhiannon Cowan 3 , Lisa Schafer 1
Background
Dual Task (DT) paradigms are frequently used by researchers and clinicians to examine the integrity of motor processes in many movement disorders. However, the mechanism of this interaction is not fully understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the within-stride interactions between cognitive and motor processes during dual task gait (DT).
Research question
Do healthy young adults coordinate gait with secondary task processing? If so, is cognitive task processing capability associated with the coordination observed?
Methods
Nineteen healthy young adults walked for two minutes on a motorized treadmill whilst counting backwards in sevens from three-digit numbers. The coordination of calculation verbalizations with gait parameters were assessed across six phases of the gait cycle. Mid verbalization time points (VERMid) were used as points of high cognitive processing of the dual task and compared with the end of the verbalizations (VEREnd) as points of low cognitive processing.
Results
VERMid and VEREnd did not systematically occur in any phase of the gait cycle. However, 10/19 and 9/19 participants showed non-random distributions of verbalizations for VERMid and VEREnd time points respectively (p < 0.01), indicating that these walkers coordinated gait with the cognitive task. Analysis of subgroups of Verbalization Coordinators and Non-Coordinators showed slower verbalization response durations (VRD) for VERMid Coordinators compared to VERMid Non-Coordinators, indicating that VERMid Coordinators found the cognitive tasks more demanding. No differences were found in VRD for VEREnd Coordinators and VEREnd Non-Coordinators.
Significance
It was found that cognitive processing is coordinated with gait phases in some but not all healthy young adults during DT gait. When demands on cognitive processes are high, healthy young adults coordinate cognitive processing with phases of gait. Analysis of within-stride coordination may be of use for studying clinical conditions where gait and attentional cognition performance breaks down.
中文翻译:
双任务步态中运动与认知任务之间的协调
背景
研究人员和临床医生经常使用双重任务(DT)范例来检查许多运动障碍中运动过程的完整性。但是,这种相互作用的机制尚未完全了解。因此,本研究的目的是研究双任务步态(DT)期间认知和运动过程之间的步幅内相互作用。
研究问题
健康的年轻人是否能协调步态与次要任务的处理?如果是这样,是否观察到与协调相关的认知任务处理能力?
方法
19名健康的年轻人在电动跑步机上走了2分钟,同时从三位数倒数到7。在步态周期的六个阶段中评估了计算语言与步态参数的协调性。中等语言表达时间点(VER Mid)被用作双重任务的高认知处理点,并且与语言表达的结束点(VER End)作为低认知处理点相比较。
结果
在步态周期的任何阶段都没有系统地发生VER Mid和VER End。然而,10/19和9/19的参与者分别显示了VER Mid和VER End时间点的言语非随机分布(p <0.01),表明这些步行者将步态与认知任务协调起来。动词化协调员和非协调的亚组分析显示为VER较慢的语言表达响应持续(VRD)中期协调员相比VER中期非协调员,表明VER中期协调员发现认知任务更加苛刻。在VER End的VRD中未发现差异协调员和VER End非协调员。
意义
发现在DT步态中,某些但不是全部健康的年轻人的认知过程与步态相协调。当对认知过程的要求很高时,健康的年轻人会在步态阶段协调认知过程。大步内协调的分析可能用于研究步态和注意力认知能力下降的临床状况。