Article

The dual-process account of sensorimotor-cognitive interactions postulates that
easy cognitive tasks can lead to performance improvements in the motor domain
(e.g., an increased stability while walking or balancing) across the lifespan.
However, cross-domain resource competition can lead to performance decrements in
motor tasks when the concurrent cognitive task is very difficult, and older
adults have shown performance decrements in their motor functioning under such
circumstances. Resource limitations are particularly pronounced not only in old
adulthood, but also in childhood. The current study investigates the relationship
of walking speed and cognitive load on walking regularity in 7- and 9-year olds
and young adults, with 18 participants in each group. Participants were walking
on a treadmill at their preferred speed, and with speeds that were 30% faster and
30% slower than preferred. Regularity of lower-body coordination was
operationalized as the residual variance of principal component analyses
performed on the data of a motion analysis system. All age groups showed a more
regular gait with increasing walking speed. Young adults' gait regularity was not
influenced by cognitive load, whereas children showed a U-shaped relationship of
cognitive load and walking regularity, with the highest regularity when
performing an easy cognitive task. It can be concluded that children are also
influenced by cross-domain resources competition in challenging cognitive-motor
dual-task situations.
CI - Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS