Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, Canada; Brain & Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, Canada.
School of Occupational Therapy, University of Western Ontario, Canada.
Hum Mov Sci. 2022 Aug;84:102972. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2022.102972. Epub 2022 Jun 25.
Music-based Rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) is a cueing intervention used to regulate gait impairments in conditions such as Parkinson's disease or stroke. Desire to move with music ('groove') and familiarity have been shown to impact younger adult gait while walking with music, and these effects appear to be influenced by individual rhythmic ability. Importantly, these factors have not been examined in older adults. The aim of this study was to determine how gait outcomes during RAS are influenced by musical properties (familiarity, 'groove') in both free and synchronized walking for younger and older adults with good and poor beat perception ability. To do this, participants were randomized to either free or synchronized walking groups. Each participant's gait was assessed on a pressure sensitive walkway during high versus low groove and high versus low familiarity music, as well as metronome, cueing trials. Individual beat perception ability was evaluated using the Beat Alignment Test. Results showed that the effects of synchronization and groove were mostly consistent across age groups. High groove music elicited faster gait in both age groups, with longer strides only among young adults, than low groove music; synchronizing maximized these effects. Older adults with poor beat perception were more negatively affected by unfamiliar stimuli while walking than younger adults. This suggests that older adults, like younger adults, may benefit from synchronized RAS to high groove cues but may be more vulnerable to cognitive demands associated with walking to unfamiliar stimuli. This should be accounted for in clinical implementations of RAS.
音乐节奏听觉刺激（RAS）是一种提示干预措施，用于调节帕金森病或中风等疾病的步态障碍。研究表明，年轻人在听音乐时的步态受到“律动”（即随音乐移动的欲望）和熟悉程度的影响，而这些影响似乎受到个体节奏感的影响。重要的是，这些因素在老年人中尚未得到检验。本研究旨在确定在具有良好和较差节拍感知能力的年轻和老年成年人的自由和同步行走中，音乐特性（熟悉度、“律动”）如何影响 RAS 期间的步态结果。为此，参与者被随机分配到自由或同步行走组。在高熟悉度和低熟悉度音乐、高律动和低律动音乐以及节拍器和提示试验期间，通过压力敏感步道评估每个参与者的步态。使用节拍对齐测试评估个体的节拍感知能力。结果表明，同步和律动的影响在不同年龄组之间基本一致。高律动音乐在两个年龄组中都能使步态加快，与低律动音乐相比，年轻人的步幅更长；同步化最大化了这些效果。与年轻人相比，节拍感知能力差的老年人在行走时受到不熟悉刺激的负面影响更大。这表明，老年人可能像年轻人一样，受益于与高律动提示同步的 RAS，但可能更容易受到与不熟悉刺激行走相关的认知需求的影响。这在 RAS 的临床实施中应予以考虑。
