The Effects of Age and Hearing Loss on Dual-Task Balance and Listening

Bruce, Halina; Aponte, Daniel I; St-Onge, Nancy; Phillips, Natalie A.; Gagné, Jean‐Pierre; Li, Karen

doi:10.1093/geronb/gbx047

Cited by 34 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…4), but there was no change in DTE between the no load walking and listening DT conditions. These results are consistent with others who found little to no change in motor performance when passive listening was added to an additional motor task due to the ease of the secondary task in young healthy adults [29,32]. Conversely, some studies have produced conflicting results as to whether individuals prioritize their walking or cognitive performance.…”

Section: Task-prioritizationsupporting

confidence: 90%

The influence of cognitive load on balance control during steady-state walking

Small

Brough

Neptune

2021

Journal of Biomechanics

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Background: For an individual to walk, they must maintain control of their dynamic balance. However, situations that present an increased cognitive load may impair an individual's ability to 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.Methods: Young healthy adults (n = 15) performed two single-task conditions (spelling while standing and walking with no cognitive load) and three dual-task conditions (walking with increasing cognitive load: attentive listening, spelling short words backwards and spelling long words backwards). Repeated measures analysis of variances were used to assess differences in balance outcome measures and cognitive performance.Results: Cognitive performance did not change between the single-and dual-task conditions as measured by percent error and response rate (p = 0.3). Balance control, assessed as 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).Conclusions: These results showed that balance control decreases during dual-task treadmill walking with increased cognitive loads, but that 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 individuals and provides the basis for future studies to determine differences in neurologically impaired populations.

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Section: Task-prioritizationsupporting

confidence: 90%

The influence of cognitive load on balance control during steady-state walking

Small

Brough

Neptune

2021

Journal of Biomechanics

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“…Additionally, the LNS results parallel findings from the same study (Bruce et al 2017) in which the sequential group showed an advantage over the simultaneous group on complex working memory performance (1-back working memory task during a concurrent mobility test). These results converge to suggest that sequential training is superior to simultaneous training with respect to working memory outcomes, but not to other measures of EF or memory.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Comparing the Transfer Effects of Simultaneously and Sequentially Combined Aerobic Exercise and Cognitive Training in Older Adults

et al. 2017

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It is known that both cognitive training and aerobic exercise training can independently improve cognitive performance in older adults. Combined multimodality (cognitive and aerobic) training has shown promise in producing significantly more training gains in older adults than pure physical exercise and control; however, results are mixed. To address these mixed results and elucidate the efficacy of different schedules of multimodal training, we compared simultaneous and sequential formats. To this end, 42 older adults (M = 68.05 years) participated in 12 sessions of same-day multimodal training and were randomly assigned to either the simultaneous (concurrent cognitive dual-task and aerobic exercise) or sequential training group (cognitive dual-task followed by aerobic exercise). Both groups showed significant improvement on measures of processing speed and verbal memory following training, with the sequential group showing a significant training advantage on working memory. Motivation to engage in cognitive effort moderated the training gains in verbal memory, and baseline aerobic fitness moderated the magnitude of training gains in response inhibition negatively. The current findings demonstrate the selective effects of training format on cognitive outcomes, in line with the principle of neural overlap, which suggests that improvements should occur to the extent that the trained and untrained tasks share underlying neural pathways. The results also underscore the importance of considering individual difference factors in cognitive training studies.

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“…Simple cognitive loads may elicit dual-task motor facilitation relative to no-load conditions, while more complex cognitive loads elicit proportionately greater costs in postural stability ( 76 ) and in an array of spatiotemporal gait parameters ( 77 ). In light of the known frontal recruitment associated with age-related sensory decline, it is perhaps not surprising that additional competition for cognitive capacity is observed when auditory challenges are experimentally imposed on dual-task walking ( 78 ) and dual-task balance ( 79 ), or when older adults with hearing impairment undergo CMDT ( 80 ).…”

Section: Cognitive Reduction: Cognitive-motor Dual-tasking (Cmdt)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive Involvement in Balance, Gait and Dual-Tasking in Aging: A Focused Review From a Neuroscience of Aging Perspective

et al. 2018

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A substantial corpus of evidence suggests that the cognitive involvement in postural control and gait increases with aging. A large portion of such studies were based on dual-task experimental designs, which typically use the simultaneous performance of a motor task (e.g., static or dynamic balancing, walking) and a continuous cognitive task (e.g., mental arithmetic, tone detection). This focused review takes a cognitive neuroscience of aging perspective in interpreting cognitive motor dual-task findings. Specifically, we consider the importance of identifying the neural circuits that are engaged by the cognitive task in relation to those that are engaged during motor task performance. Following the principle of neural overlap, dual-task interference should be greatest when the cognitive and motor tasks engage the same neural circuits. Moreover, the literature on brain aging in general, and models of dedifferentiation and compensation, in particular, suggest that in cognitive motor dual-task performance, the cognitive task engages different neural substrates in young as compared to older adults. Also considered is the concept of multisensory aging, and the degree to which the age-related decline of other systems (e.g., vision, hearing) contribute to cognitive load. Finally, we discuss recent work on focused cognitive training, exercise and multimodal training of older adults and their effects on postural and gait outcomes. In keeping with the principle of neural overlap, the available cognitive training research suggests that targeting processes such as dividing attention and inhibition lead to improved balance and gait in older adults. However, more studies are needed that include functional neuroimaging during actual, upright performance of gait and balance tasks, in order to directly test the principle of neural overlap, and to better optimize the design of intervention studies to improve gait and posture.

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The Effects of Age and Hearing Loss on Dual-Task Balance and Listening

Abstract: The cognitive and balance results suggest that YA were able to flexibly allocate their attention between tasks, whereas ARHL exhibited prioritization of posture over cognitive performance.

Cited by 34 publications

References 37 publications

The influence of cognitive load on balance control during steady-state walking

The influence of cognitive load on balance control during steady-state walking

Comparing the Transfer Effects of Simultaneously and Sequentially Combined Aerobic Exercise and Cognitive Training in Older Adults

Cognitive Involvement in Balance, Gait and Dual-Tasking in Aging: A Focused Review From a Neuroscience of Aging Perspective

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