Young adults who improve performance during dual-task walking show more flexible reallocation of cognitive resources: A Mobile Brain-Body Imaging (MoBI) study

Abstract

In young adults, pairing a taxing cognitive task with walking can have different effects on gait and cognitive task performance. In some cases, performance clearly declines whereas in others compensatory mechanisms maintain performance even under dual-task conditions. This study set out to investigate the preliminary finding of behavioral improvement in Go-NoGo response inhibition task performance during walking compared to sitting, which was observed at the piloting stage. Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI) was used to record electroencephalographic (EEG) activity, three-dimensional (3D) gait kinematics and behavioral responses in the cognitive task, during sitting or walking on a treadmill. In a cohort of twenty-six (26) young adults, fourteen (14) participants improved in measures of cognitive task performance while walking compared to sitting. These participants exhibited walking-related EEG amplitude reductions over frontal brain scalp regions during key stages of inhibitory control (conflict monitoring, control implementation and pre-motor stages), accompanied by reduced stride-to-stride variability and faster responses to stimuli compared to those who did not improve. In contrast, the twelve (12) participants who did not improve exhibited no EEG amplitude differences across physical condition. The neural activity changes associated with performance improvement during dual tasking hold promise as cognitive flexibility markers that can potentially help assess cognitive decline in aging and neurodegeneration.

Paradoxical improvement of cognitive control in older adults under dual-task walking conditions is associated with more flexible reallocation of neural resources: A Mobile Brain-Body Imaging (MoBI) study

“…Specifically, in young IMPs, reduced walking-related N2 amplitudes frontocentrally have been interpreted as reduced inhibitory conflict during walking, since the source of the N2 has been localized to the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which plays a central role in conflict monitoring (54,55,58,59,102,103). Also, walking-ERP amplitude modulations over lateral prefrontal regions during the P3 stage have been interpreted as more efficient recruitment of neural resources crucial for topdown behavioral adjustments, which have been localized to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, especially in the left hemisphere (39,51,102,(104)(105)(106).…”

“…More efficient, exercise-induced engagement of these prefrontal resources has been associated with increased arousal levels and improvement in task performance, which likely stems from the adoption of more proactive cognitive strategies to task execution (12,(113)(114)(115)(116)(117). Such a shift in the cognitive strategy of IMPs during walking could enhance anticipation of the subsequent 'NoGo' trials, thereby explaining why they presumably exhibit walking-related reduction in inhibitory conflict, as indexed by reduced frontocentral-N2 amplitudes (39). The present findings indicate that the neural signatures previously found in young adults who improve during dual-task walking during N2 and P3 (39) also occur in older adults who improve during dual-task walking.…”

“…Thirty-four (34) young adults (18-30 years old; age = 22.09 ± 3.12 years; 17 female, 17 male; 30 right-handed, 4 left-handed) and thirty-seven (37) older adults (62-79 years old; age = 70.32 ± 4.54 years; 16 female, 21 male; 29 right-handed, 8 left-handed) participated in the study. Twenty-six (26) of the 34 young adults were common between the present study and Patelaki and colleagues (39). The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was administered to older adults, to ensure that no aging-related cognitive impairment was present.…”

“…Coupling response inhibition tasks with walking has been shown to cause pronounced performance declines and increased competition in prefrontal neural circuits in older adults (47). One commonly used approach to study response inhibition is the so-called visual Go/NoGo task (1,39,(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54). These tasks typically involve setting up a response regime whereby participants must respond very regularly to the great majority of stimuli presented ('Go' stimuli), such that there is a prepotent inclination to execute such a response, while introducing occasional 'lure' NoGo stimuli that require participants to withhold their response.…”

“…When paired with walking, the visual Go/NoGo response inhibition task has been shown to effectively distinguish between younger and older adults in terms of dual-task-related changes, both in response accuracy and in N2/P3 amplitudes and latencies during successful inhibitions (1). In young adults, on average, preservation or improvement of response accuracy during walking compared to sitting, was accompanied by reduced walking-related N2 and P3 amplitudes (1,39,48). On the other hand, older adults exhibited, on average, significant response accuracy reduction during walking, but also attenuated ERP amplitude differences between sitting and walking (1).…”