Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Australia.
Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Australia.
Res Dev Disabil. 2024 Nov;154:104853. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104853. Epub 2024 Oct 4.
Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) exhibit deficits in predictive motor control, balance, and aspects of cognitive control, which are important for safely negotiating obstacles while walking. As concurrent performance of cognitive and motor tasks (dual-tasking) may exacerbate these deficits, we examined motor and cognitive dual-tasking differences between children with DCD and their typically developing (TD) peers during obstacle negotiation.
34 children aged 6-12 years (16 TD, 18 DCD) walked along a 12 m path, stepping over an obstacle (30 % or 50 % of leg length) at its mid-point. On dual-task trials, participants completed a simple or complex (cognitive) visual discrimination task presented via an augmented reality headset. Proportional dual-task costs (pDTCs) were measured on cognitive and gait outcomes over three phases: pre-obstacle, obstacle step-over, and post-obstacle.
During the obstacle step-over phase, both groups increased their leading leg clearance when dual-tasking, while the DCD group had larger pDTC than TD for the high obstacle under simple stimulus conditions (viz simple-high combination). The complex cognitive task produced larger pDTCs than the simple one on leading leg clearance and post-obstacle gait variability.
In general, both DCD and TD groups showed similar pDTCs under complex conditions, while the specific deficit in DCD under the simple-high combination suggests a (default) compensatory strategy during step-over when attention is diverted to a secondary task. Competing cognitive and motor demands during obstacle negotiation present a potential safety risk for children.
患有发育性协调障碍（DCD）的儿童在预测性运动控制、平衡和认知控制方面存在缺陷，这些对于安全地穿越障碍物非常重要。由于认知和运动任务的同时执行（双重任务）可能会加剧这些缺陷，因此我们在儿童 DCD 和他们的典型发展（TD）同龄人在穿越障碍物时检查了运动和认知双重任务的差异。
34 名 6-12 岁的儿童（16 名 TD，18 名 DCD）沿着 12 米的路径行走，在障碍物的中点跨过障碍物（30%或 50%的腿长）。在双重任务试验中，参与者通过增强现实耳机完成简单或复杂（认知）视觉辨别任务。在三个阶段测量认知和步态结果的比例双重任务成本（pDTC）：障碍物前、障碍物跨越和障碍物后。
在障碍物跨越阶段，当双重任务时，两组都增加了领先腿的净空，而 DCD 组在简单刺激条件下（即简单-高组合）的高障碍物下的 pDTC 比 TD 组大。复杂认知任务比简单任务在领先腿净空和障碍物后步态变异性上产生更大的 pDTC。
一般来说，DCD 和 TD 组在复杂条件下都表现出相似的 pDTC，而 DCD 在简单-高组合下的特定缺陷表明，当注意力转移到次要任务时，在跨越时会采用（默认）补偿策略。在穿越障碍物期间，认知和运动需求的竞争对儿童构成潜在的安全风险。
