Dual-task Methodology Research Articles

EFEITO DO TREINO DE DUPLA TAREFA NA MARCHA CONGELANTE EM IDOSOS COMDOENÇADEPARKINSON:UMAREVISÃOINTEGRATIVA.1

One of the most debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is freezing of gait (FoG), which significantly impacts the quality of life of elderly individuals. Dual-task training, which involves performing a motor task and a cognitive task simultaneously, has been explored as an effective intervention to improve these symptoms. This method is used in Parkinson’s patients because they often have difficulties performing multiple tasks at the same time. Dual- task training helps improve coordination and functionality by challenging both motor and cognitive systems, which can reduce the risk of falls and increase mobility. This study aimed to conduct a literature review to assess the effects of dual-task training on freezing of gait in elderly patients with Parkinson’s disease. It is an integrative review guided by the question, “What are the effects of dual-task training on freezing of gait in elderly patients with Parkinson’s disease?”. Searches were conducted in 2023/2024 using the Virtual Health Library (BVS), Cochrane Library, MEDLINE/PubMed, and the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro). Articles published between 2019 and 2024 in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, addressing elderly individuals of both genders diagnosed with Parkinson’s and freezing of gait, and employing dual-task (DT) training, regardless of whether or not it was combined with other therapies, were included. Incomplete studies, review articles, conference proceedings, and studies without a proper description of the DT methodology were excluded. A total of 8 randomized clinical trials were selected, resulting in an analysis of the therapeutic effects on these patients’ gait. The reviewed studies indicated that dual-task training showed significant improvements in gait and balance in Parkinson’s patients, reducing the severity of freezing of gait. It is concluded that dual-task training is a promising intervention to improve gait and reduce FoG in elderly patients with Parkinson’s, highlighting the importance of multidimensional and personalized interventions for effective FoG management.

Attention defines the context for implicit sensorimotor adaptation.

Movement errors are used to continuously recalibrate the sensorimotor map, a process known as sensorimotor adaptation. Here we examined how attention influences this automatic and obligatory learning process. Focusing first on spatial attention, we compared conditions in which the visual feedback that provided information about the movement outcome was either attended or unattended. Surprisingly, this manipulation had no effect on the rate of adaptation. We next used a dual-task methodology to examine the influence of attentional resources on adaptation. Here, again, we found no effect of attention, with the rate of adaptation similar under focused or divided attention conditions. Interestingly, we found that attention modulates adaptation in an indirect manner: Attended stimuli serve as cues that define the context for learning. The rate of adaptation was significantly attenuated when the attended stimulus changed from the end of one trial to the start of the next trial. In contrast, similar changes to unattended stimuli had no impact on adaptation. Together, these results suggest that visual attention defines the cues that establish the context for sensorimotor learning.

Analysis of functional hop test with dual task on injured and uninjured athletes

Purpose: Maladaptive neuroplasticity may develop after injury. However, most of the test applications in the return to the sport process mainly focus on the motor end of the sensorimotor system. In this study, we aimed to examine the performance outputs of the functional hop tests with the dual task methodology.
 Methods: Triple hop for distance (THD), crossover hop for distance (CHD) and 6-meter hop for timed (6MHT) tests were done. For the cognitive task the backward digit span test of the Wechsler intelligence scale was preferred. Nineteen athletes with a history of unilateral lower extremity injuries were assigned to the previously injured group (PIG), and 20 athletes with no previous injury were assigned to the control group (CG).
 Results: There were no significant differences between the results of the cognitive task levels and Mini Mental State Examination scores of the athletes in our study (p>0.05). PIG athletes showed significantly lower jump performances compared to CG athletes; in the injured extremity side, differences were found between the groups' THD, CHD, and 6MHT values during a single task (p

Gait alterations in Parkinson's disease at the stage of hemiparkinsonism-A longitudinal study.

Progressive gait impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD) leads to significant disability. Quantitative gait parameters analysis provides valuable information about fine gait alterations. To analyse change of gait parameters in patients with early PD at the stage of hemiparkinsonism and after 1 year of follow up, taking into account clinical asymmetry. Consecutive early PD outpatients with strictly unilateral motor features underwent clinical and neuropsychological assessment at the study entry and after 1 year of follow up. Gait was assessed with GAITRite walkway using dual-task methodology. Spatiotemporal gait parameters (step time and length, swing time and double support time) and their coefficients of variation (CV), gait velocity and heel-to-heel base support were evaluated. We included 42 PD patients with disease duration of 1.3 years (±1.13). Progression of motor and non-motor symptoms, without significant cognitive worsening, was observed after 1 year of follow up. Significant shortening of the swing time, prolongation of the double support and increase of their CVs were observed during all task conditions similarly for most parameters on symptomatic and asymptomatic bodysides, except for CV for the swing time under the combined task. Alterations of the swing time and double support time are already present even at the asymptomatic body side, and progress similarly, or even at faster pace, at this side, despite dopaminergic treatment These parameters deserve further investigation in larger, prospective studies to address their potential to serve as markers of progression in interventional disease modifying trials with early PD patients.

On the Immersive Properties of High Dynamic Range Video

This paper presents the results from two studies which used a dual-task methodology to measure an audience's experience of immersion while watching video under typical television viewing conditions. Immersion was measured while participants watched either a high dynamic range, wide color gamut video or a standard dynamic range, standard color gamut video, in high definition or ultra-high definition. Other video parameters were carefully measured and controlled. The study found that high dynamic range, wide color gamut video is significantly more immersive than standard dynamic range, standard color gamut video in the chosen configuration. However, there was no evidence of significant differences in immersion between high-definition and ultra-high-definition resolutions.

Exploring task-based cognitive processes

Abstract This paper argues that TBLT researchers should dedicate more effort to investigating the cognitive processes in which L2 learners engage during task work to facilitate theory-construction and to inform pedagogical practices. To help achieve this, a review follows of various subjective (questionnaires, interviews, think-aloud/stimulated recall protocols) and objective (dual-task methodology, keystroke-logging, eye-tracking) methods that are available to TBLT researchers to examine cognitive processes underlying task-based performance. The paper concludes that, to obtain a more valid understanding of task-generated cognitive processes, it is best to combine various methods to overcome the limitations of each. Finally, some methodological recommendations are provided for future cognitively-oriented TBLT research.

The Cognitive Loads and Usability of Target-based and Steering-based Travel Techniques.

Target and steering-based techniques are two common approaches to travel in consumer VR applications. In this paper, we present two within-subject studies that employ a prior dual-task methodology to evaluate and compare the cognitive loads, travel performances, and simulator sickness of three common target-based travel techniques and three common steering-based travel techniques. We also present visual meta-analyses comparing our results to prior results using the same dual-task methodology. Based on our results and meta-analyses, we present several design suggestions for travel techniques based on various aspects of user experiences.

EXAMINING THE RELATIVE EFFECTS OF TASK COMPLEXITY AND COGNITIVE DEMANDS ON STUDENTS’ WRITING IN A SECOND LANGUAGE

AbstractWhile many studies have investigated the effect of task complexity on L2 writing, little has been reported on the effects of intended task complexity manipulations on task-generated cognitive demands in L2 writing. This study, therefore, was designed to examine the relative effects of task complexity and cognitive demands on students’ L2 writing. Two argumentative writing tasks were manipulated with varying numbers of elements and reasoning demands to be distinguished either as a simple or complex writing task. Self-ratings and dual-task methodology were adopted to validate the manipulations of task complexity. Thirty-one L2 learners, in the single-task group, were asked to complete two writing tasks and a post-task questionnaire. Participants in the dual-task conditions (30 in Experimental 1 and 31 in Experimental 2) were required to simultaneously complete the primary writing tasks and the secondary tasks. Results from self-ratings and dual-task experiments supported the efficacy of the task complexity manipulations.

The Effect of Attentional Direction on Sub-Stages of Preparing for Motor Skill Execution Across Practice.

While several empirical studies using dual-task methodology have examined the effect of attentional direction on motor skill execution; few have studied the effect of attentional direction on just the preparation phase of motor practice. In this study, via a keying sequence paradigm, we explored processing stages of preparation for a motor skill and disentangled the effect of attentional direction on various stages across practice. First, participants learned two keying sequences (three versus six keys). Then, they practiced the keying sequences in response to corresponding sequence labels under two block-wise alternating dual-task conditions. To dissect the preparation phase into sequence selection and sequence initiation stages, participants received varying amounts of preparation time (0, 300, 900 ms) before a starting signal instructed them to begin sequence execution. In each trial, a tone was paired with one of the three or six keypresses, and participants indicated either the keypress with which the tone was presented (skill-focused dual task) or the tone’s pitch (extraneous dual task) after the sequence execution. We found that attentional direction affected only the sequence selection stage, not the sequence initiation stage. During early practice, compared to drawing attention away from execution, directing attention toward execution led to faster sequence selection. This advantage decreased with practice and vanished during late blocks of trials. Moreover, for the execution phase, relative to directing attention toward execution, drawing attention away from execution led to better performance of keying sequence execution across practice. Thus, attentional direction alone does not fully explain the difference between performance patterns at different skill levels in the dual-task literature; rather, types of motor skills and dual task difficulty levels may also drive performance differences.

Age-related changes in children’s cognitive–motor dual tasking: Evidence from a large cross-sectional sample

Children coordinate two tasks simultaneously at several occasions throughout the day; however, this dual-task ability and its development across childhood are poorly understood. Therefore, the current study investigated age-related changes in children’s dual-task ability using a large cross-sectional sample of 8- to 13-year-old children (N = 135). In our dual-task methodology, children were asked to walk across an electronic pathway while performing three concurrent cognitive tasks. These tasks targeted at children’s executive function components: inhibition, switching, and updating skills. Our findings indicate associations between age and children’s stride time variability but not with normalized velocity. Younger children showed higher stride time variability in the dual-task situation as compared with older children after accounting for their single-task performance, intelligence, anthropometric variables, and sex, indicating a more regular gait pattern in older children. Furthermore, age was differently related to children’s accuracy in solving the concurrent cognitive tasks. Whereas age was associated with children’s performance in the updating and switching task, there was no relation between age and children’s inhibitory skills. In addition, our data imply that children’s dual-task ability was associated with a number of individual variables. In particular, children with higher intelligence scores showed fewer errors and girls showed lower stride time variability in the dual tasks. Our results suggest a considerable developmental progression in children’s ability to coordinate two simultaneous tasks across middle childhood. Furthermore, our study qualifies previous dual-task research and implies that heterogeneous findings may be related to a differential involvement of executive function components in the dual task.

Understanding the Role of Visualizations on Decision Making: A Study on Working Memory

The use of data visualization is increasing; however, there is little empirical explanation for how it supports users. Our goal in this paper is to deepen our understanding of the role of interactive visualizations in a particular context of decision making. Specifically, we attempt to understand the role of the working memory system, which is a concept to understand the mechanism of the processing and temporary storage of information in variety of cognitive tasks. We compared two interfaces, SimulSort and its non-visual counterpart Typical Sorting, with a multi-attribute decision-making problem. Because decision outcomes are known to be affected by the limitations of a person’s working memory, we conducted a crowdsourcing-based user study using SimulSort to understand how working memory, especially the phonological loop, can benefit from the using visualizations. We examined the impact on working memory with a well known dual-task methodology by designing a concurrent task to tap into the main decision-making task. The experiment was conducted with a total of 137 participants and an ordered logistic regression using a proportional odds model was applied to analyze the decision quality. The results supported the hypothesis that when using SimulSort, participants required less working memory than they required with Typical Sorting to accomplish the multi-attribute decision-making task even though SimulSort outperformed Typical Sorting in terms of decision quality. We also provide methodologies to conduct working memory studies by implementing an articulatory suppression task on crowdsourcing platforms in which experimenters have less control over the participants.

The Varying Effects of Dual Tasks on the Performance of Motor Skills across Practice

Numerous previous studies using the dual-task methodology have indicated that the effect of attentional direction on the performance of motor skill differs as a function of skill levels. Whereas previous studies relied mostly on inter-individual comparisons, this study focused on how the effects of different attentional conditions change within individuals with practice. Participants were instructed to learn a short and a long keying sequence (three versus six keys) and then practiced under two block-wise alternating dual-task conditions. In each trial, a tone, either low- or high-pitched, was presented at one of the three/six keys and participants had to indicate either the pitch of the tone (extraneous dual task) or the key with which the tone was presented (skill-focused dual task) after finishing the execution of the keying sequence. Motor task performance was assessed by reaction time (RT) and movement duration (MD), and the concurrent cognitive task performance was assessed by the error rate. RT was faster in the skill-focused dual-task condition at the beginning of practice, whereas a generally shorter MD was found in the extraneous dual-task condition. The error rate in the extraneous dual task decreased with practice, whereas in the skill-focused dual task, it increased with practice. These results show that the effects of attentional direction differ not only as a function of the amount of practice but also as a function of the stage of information processing. Furthermore, our results indicate that the direction of attention alone does not explain the different patterns of performance at different skill levels seen across dual-task studies; rather, the skill levels, the nature of cognitive demands, the difficulty level of dual tasks, and the complexity of the motor skill could all drive performance differences.

Effects of various executive functions on adults' and children's walking.

Walking is human's most important locomotion. Until recently, walking was seen as an automated motor task that requires only minimal cognitive resources. However, recent studies indicate that walking requires higher-level cognitive processes such as executive functions. A different line of research suggests that executive functions consist of 3 core components: inhibition, switching, and updating. Combining these findings, the present study clarified which executive-function component is most essential for human walking. Applying a dual-task methodology, adults (n = 37) and 8- to 13-year-old children (n = 134) walked repeatedly across an electronic pathway while solving an inhibition, switching, and updating task. Both adults and children showed the largest gait alterations in the updating and switching task as opposed to inhibition. Likewise, their cognitive performance revealed the largest performance reductions from single- to dual-task situations in the updating task. Overall, our results highlight remarkable similarities in children's and adults' performance with updating working memory representations and switching between rule sets being the most essential cognitive processes for walking. These findings point to a general gait-cognition process. Results have important theoretical value and hold practical implications for creating effective intervention programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of Cognitive and Physical Loads on Dynamic and Static Balance Performance of Healthy Older Adults Under Single-, Dual-, and Multi-task Conditions.

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of cognitive and physical loads on dynamic and static balance performance of healthy older adults under single-, dual-, and multi-task conditions. Previous studies on postural control in older adults have generally used dual-task methodology, whereas less attention has been paid to multi-task performance, despite its importance in many daily and occupational activities. The effects of single versus combined (dual-task and multi-task) cognitive (to speak out the name of the weekdays in a reverse order) and physical (with three levels including handling weights of 1, 2, and 3 kg in each hand) loads on dynamic and static balance performance of 42 older adults (21 males and 21 females) aged ≥60 years were examined. Dynamic and static balance measures were evaluated using the Timed Up and Go (TUG) and stabilometer (sway index) tests, respectively. The TUG speed of female participants was generally slower than that of male participants. Age had no effect on balance performance measures. Under dual-task conditions, cognitive load decreased the dynamic balance performance, while the physical task levels had no effect. The dual-task conditions had no impact on the static balance performance. The effects of cognitive and physical loads on dynamic balance performance varied under dual- and multi-task conditions. The findings highlight differences between dual- and multi-task protocols and add to the understanding of balance performance in older adults under cognitive and physical loads. The present study highlights differences between dual- and multi-task methodologies that need to be considered in future studies of balance and control in older adults.

Development and validation of a secondary task environment for assessing visual-psychomotor tasks

The dual-task paradigm methodology is a widely accepted approach to facilitate relative human performance measurement in a variety of tasks. The present paper describes the development and experimental validation of a visual-psychomotor secondary task. This task is proposed as a standardised secondary task set to facilitate human performance measurement during the objective evaluation of alternate primary tasks. The development of the secondary task is aligned with attributes suggested within the existing literature. The methodology is offered as a systematically derived secondary task with a tuned difficulty level which is intended to avoid floor or ceiling effects. Also, the data presented here afford the reader the ability to manipulate difficulty with known effect, if desired. Future plans include use of the secondary task set to facilitate a comparison of primary task independent variables. This activity will act to further exercise the potential utility of this ‘standardised’ secondary task and its associated mechanisation.

Time-on-task as a Measure of Cognitive Load in TBLT

Recent studies in task-based research have increasingly implemented ways to measure cognitive load in order to ensure that the tasks that were intended to be more complex placed greater cognitive load onto the learner, which in turn would lead to systematic changes in outcome measures. This study aims to introduce a more objective, indirect measure of cognitive load: time-on-task. In this study, 42 native speakers of English carried out three types of oral tasks that each had three levels of task complexity, operationalized as the number of elements. Cognitive load was measured by learner self-ratings, prospective time estimations, the dual task methodology, and time-on-task. Results of a series of correlational analyses and repeated-measures ANOVA showed that time-on-task, which can further be divided into time-on-planning and time-on-speech, proved to be a valid measure of cognitive load.

The interplay between control processes and feature relevance: Evidence from dual-task methodology.

Neuropsychological studies suggest a distinction between (a) semantic knowledge and (b) control processes that shape the retrieval of conceptual information to suit the task or context. These aspects of semantic cognition are specifically impaired in patients with semantic dementia and semantic aphasia, respectively. However, interactions between the structure of knowledge and control processes that are expected during semantic retrieval have not been fully characterised. In particular, domain-general executive resources may not have equal relevance for the capacity to promote weak yet task relevant features (i.e., "controlled retrieval) and to ignore or suppress distracting information (i.e., "selection"). Here, using a feature selection task, we tested the contribution of featural relevance to semantic performance in healthy participants under conditions of divided attention. Healthy participants showed greater dual-task disruption as the relevance value of the distractor feature linearly increased, supporting the emerging view that semantic relevance is one of the organising principles of the structure of semantic representation. Moreover, word frequency, and inter-correlational strength affected overall performance, but they did not show an interaction with dual-task conditions. These results suggest that domain-general control processes, disrupted by divided attention, are more important to the capacity to efficiently avoid distracting information during semantic decision-making than to the promotion of weak target features. The present study therefore provides novel information about the nature of the interaction between structured conceptual knowledge and control processes that support the retrieval of appropriate information and relates these results to a new theoretical framework, termed controlled semantic cognition.

Cognitive entrainment to isochronous rhythms is independent of both sensory modality and top-down attention

Abstract The anisochrony of a stimulus sequence was manipulated parametrically to investigate whether rhythmic entrainment is stronger in the auditory modality than in the visual modality (Experiment 1), and whether it relies on top-down attention (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, participants had to respond as quickly as possible to a target presented after a sequence of either visual or auditory stimuli. The anisochrony of this sequence was manipulated parametrically, rather than in an all or none fashion; that is, it could range from smaller to larger deviations of the isochrony (0, 10, 20, 50, 100, 150 and 200 ms). We compared rhythmic entrainment patterns for auditory and visual modalities. Results showed a peak of entrainment for both isochrony and deviations of isochrony up to 50 ms (i.e., participants were equally fast both after the isochronous sequences and after 10, 20 and 50 ms deviations), suggesting that anisochronous sequences can also produce entrainment. Beyond this entrainment window, the reaction times became progressively slower. Surprisingly, no differences were found between the entrainment patterns for auditory and visual rhythms. In Experiment 2, we used a dual-task methodology by adding a working memory n-back task to the procedure of Experiment 1. Results did not show interference of the secondary task in either auditory or visual modalities, with participants showing the same entrainment pattern as in Experiment 1. These results suggest that rhythmic entrainment constitutes a cognitive process that occurs by default (automatically), regardless of the modality in which the stimuli are presented, and independent of top-down attention, to generate behavioural benefits.

Single Versus Dual-Task Performance Using a Novel Dual-Task Assessment in a Healthy Sample

PURPOSE: The dual-task (DT) paradigm consists of concurrent performance of a cognitive and motor task. Varying DT methodologies have been used to observe subtle changes associated with sport concussion (SC). However, previously employed DT methodologies may not be translatable to the clinical setting. The purpose of the current study was to compare performance on commonly used cognitive and motor tasks administered separately and concurrently in a healthy collegiate sample. METHODS: Participants consisted of 60 (32 female, 28 male) recreationally active adults (Age: 20.5 ± 1.34 years, Height: 171.7 ± 9.33 cm, Mass: 69.25 ± 12.23 kg). Participants completed the single task (ST) assessment which consisted of the Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC) and four trials of the timed tandem gait (TTG) test separately. Participants then completed the SAC and TTG concurrently for the DT assessment. For the SAC, paired t-tests were used to compare ST and DT performance for immediate recall (10-item list), concentration (digit span, months in reverse order), and delayed recall domains as well as the composite score. For the TTG test, paired t-tests compared the best (fastest) time of the ST trials to the average values for each SAC domain. All analyses were performed with α = 0.05. RESULTS: SAC composite scores significantly improved by 2.3 ± 3.61 points from ST to DT performance (p < 0.001). Comparisons of all ST and DT domain and composite scores for the SAC and TTG are presented in Table 1. CONCLUSION: The DT assessment resulted in improved cognitive performance and decreased (slower) motor performance as compared to ST performance. Our findings align with related literature using more sophisticated assessment tools. The current findings suggest altered allocation of cognitive resources using commonly used clinical measures of cognition and motor control prior to and following a SC. Future research should investigate the current DT methodology in concussed athletes.

Using dual-task methods to enhance cognitive performance in the acute phase of stroke: a proof of concept study

Objective: To test the effectiveness of using a non-targeted, dual-task methodology to promote positive cognitive behavior change in acute stroke.Method: Three stroke survivors, selected because they exhibited different recovery profiles, different lesion sites, and time since suffering a stroke, were administered an anagram task five or six times across a two-week period in the days following a stroke. Task difficulty increased across sessions by means of adding a category instance detection task, where participants had to identify instances from either one or two different semantic categories. The same regime was administered to a control group over a two-week period.Results: All three participants were in the clinical range on early tests but were in non-clinical range on their last test session. Dual-task effects on completion time were also similar across participants as were anagram length effects. The three participants exhibited enhanced cognitive performance.Conclusions: The results suggest the possibility that cognitive interventions aimed at restoring lost function can be administered in the early days post-stroke and can produce beneficial outcomes, in much the same way that early motor or speech intervention programs have been shown to produce long-term benefits.