Cognitive Motor Interference in Adults with LCVA and Typical Comparison Peers Under Single- and Dual-task Conditions

The present study aimed to determine if type of cognitive task (i.e., language vs. tone processing; single- vs. dual-task) influences cognitive-motor interference (CMI), in individuals with LCVA. Design: Between group, cross-sectional, cohort study measured gait speed and cognitive performance (i.e., RT and accuracy) during single- and dual-task conditions. Participants: Population-based, volunteer sample:4 adults with LCVA, 4 healthy, age-matched adults, and 4 healthy, young-adults. LCVA participants were a minimum of 6 months post-stroke. Healthy, age-matched individuals were matched to LCVA participants for age (+/- 10 years), education level, and gender. Young, healthy adults aged 18-25 years served as the control group. All participants were fluent in English, reported good hearing/vision, and no neurological impairment. Outcome Measures: Measures of gait speed (m/s), accuracy, and RT on walking and cognitive tasks were recorded. Neuropsychological test scores were compared to performance on dual-tasks. Conclusions: Results have implications for treating individuals with LCVA and communication disorders. Performance of LCVA under single- and dual- task conditions demonstrate the importance of not only treating individuals while they are performing a single task, but also under dual-task conditions to ensure gait safety. Gait speed, however does not appear to be impacted when completing the cognitive-linguistic tasks used in the current study, perhaps due to the lack of sensitivity in the outcome measure used in data collection for motor performance.Additional research should be conducted to confirm results due to the inconsistency in current findings when compared to previous research. Furthermore, future research should focus on collecting outcome measures for both motor and cognitive tasks using technology and cognitive tasks that have previously indicated group differences between stroke and typical comparison peers.