Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
J Biomech. 2021 Jun 9;122:110466. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2021.110466. Epub 2021 Apr 23.
For an individual to successfully walk, they must maintain control of their dynamic balance. However, situations that require increased cognitive attention may impair an individual's ability to actively control their balance. While dual-task studies have analyzed walking-while-talking conditions, few studies have focused specifically on the influence of cognitive load on balance control. The purpose of this study was to assess how individuals prioritize their cognitive resources and control dynamic balance during dual-task conditions of varying difficulty. Young healthy adults (n = 15) performed two single-task conditions (spelling-while-standing and treadmill walking with no cognitive load) and three dual-task conditions (treadmill walking with increasing cognitive load: attentive listening and spelling short and long words backwards). Cognitive performance did not change between the single- and dual-task as measured by spelling percent error and response rate (p = 0.300). Balance control, assessed using the range of whole-body angular momentum, did not change between the no load and listening conditions, but decreased during the short and long spelling conditions (p < 0.001). These results highlight that in young adults balance control decreases during dual-task treadmill walking with increased cognitive loads, but their cognitive performance does not change. The decrease in balance control suggests that participants prioritized cognitive performance over balance control during these dual-task walking conditions. This work offers additional insight into the automaticity of walking and task-prioritization in healthy young individuals and provides the basis for future studies to determine differences in neurologically impaired populations.
为了成功行走，个体必须保持动态平衡的控制。然而，需要增加认知注意力的情况可能会损害个体主动控制平衡的能力。虽然双重任务研究分析了边走路边说话的情况，但很少有研究专门关注认知负荷对平衡控制的影响。本研究的目的是评估个体在不同难度的双重任务条件下如何优先分配认知资源并控制动态平衡。年轻健康成年人（n=15）进行了两种单任务条件（站立拼写和无认知负荷跑步机行走）和三种双重任务条件（认知负荷增加的跑步机行走：专心听和拼写短词和长词倒写）。拼写错误百分比和反应率（p=0.300）测量的认知表现并未在单任务和双任务之间发生变化。使用全身角动量范围评估的平衡控制在无负荷和听条件之间没有变化，但在短词和长词拼写条件下下降（p<0.001）。这些结果表明，在年轻成年人中，平衡控制在认知负荷增加的双重任务跑步机行走中会下降，但他们的认知表现不会改变。平衡控制的下降表明参与者在这些双重任务行走条件下优先考虑认知表现而不是平衡控制。这项工作为健康年轻人行走的自动性和任务优先级提供了更多的见解，并为未来研究确定神经受损人群的差异提供了基础。
