Dual-task effects of spontaneous speech and executive function on gait in aging: Exaggerated effects in slow walkers

作者：Plummer D'Amato, Prudence^*; Altmann, Lori J P; Reilly, Kevin

来源：Gait & Posture, 2011, 33(2): 233-237.

DOI：10.1016/j.gaitpost.2010.11.011

• Gait
• Dual-task
• Older adult
• Cognition
• Aging

This study compared the effects of spontaneous speech and executive function on gait and investigated the effects of single-task gait speed on dual-task costs. Twenty-one older adults (74.7 years, SD 5.9) and 23 younger adults (22 years, SD 1.2) walked for 60 s while performing an auditory Stroop task and a spontaneous speech task; they also performed each task in isolation. Walking while talking significantly reduced gait speed in both groups; however, only older adults experienced significant cognitive-motor interference during the Stroop task. Stride duration variability and gait symmetry were also affected by the speech task in older but not younger adults. Dual-task costs on gait speed were greater in slow-walking older adults than fast walkers. These results demonstrate that spontaneous speech is a highly demanding task that has a profound impact on gait in older adults, especially those with gait speed < 1 m/s.

• 出版日期2011-2
• 单位东北大学