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EFFECT OF WALKING ON A SELF-PROPELLED VERSUS MOTORIZED TREADMILL ON COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE DURING DUAL TASKING

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Dual tasking is the simultaneous performance of two tasks. Results of studies evaluating simultaneous treadmill walking and performance of a cognitive task are mixed, with some suggesting cognitive performance decrements, some showing increased fall risk, and others eliciting improvement in cognition. Self-propelled treadmills (SPT) lack a motor and rely on the user to propel the belt forward. These treadmills are gaining in popularity because their use elicits a greater physiological response than a traditional motorized treadmill (MT). However, how use of a SPT might impact dual tasking is unknown. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate change in cognitive performance from baseline, seated conditions when using a SPT vs MT and simultaneously performing cognitive tasks. METHODS: n=12 college age adults (21.0 years, 70.6 kg, 159.7 cm tall) visited the lab on two occasions during which they completed serial 7 subtractions, which required counting backward from a 3-digit number by 7’s for 2 minutes, and a word recall task, requiring recall of as many words as possible from a 75 word list they viewed for 3 minutes. Participants completed cognitive tests while seated and self-selected their preferred walking speed on the MT during a baseline visit. During the second visit, participants completed both cognitive tests under 3 conditions: MT walking at preferred speed, SPT walking at the matched preferred speed, and SPT walking at a self-selected unmatched speed. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare cognitive performance among the conditions. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in serial 7 or word recall performance among any of the conditions, including no differences from seated performance (p>0.05). The dual task cost, calculated as (dual task value - single task value) / single task value *100 was calculated to compare cost of gait vs cognitive changes, and dual task cost for cognition was significantly less than for gait (p<0.05) though there were no differences in cost between the three treadmill conditions (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Collectively these data suggest that cognition improves when dual tasking compared to single tasking regardless of type of treadmill used.

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