Abstract
Rhythmic auditory cues aim to modulate step times while walking. Their effect on the variability of minimum foot clearance, which is “normally” the most controlled gait parameter in normal overground walking, has not been studied, yet. We aim to analyse the effects of auditory cues on the variability of foot clearance versus the variability of other gait parameters. We further ask how the control of minimum foot clearance behaves in walking with rhythmic cuing while cognitive gait control mechanisms of higher centres is reduced through a cognitive load. Twenty young and twenty older individuals performed 4 walking conditions: normal unconstrained walking with preferred walking speed, walking with constrained step times, walking with a cognitive dual task and walking with constrained step time and a cognitive dual task. To collect kinematic gait data, we used inertial sensors which were attached to each of the subjects’ feet. Gait variability was quantified using the coefficient of variation of stride time, stride length and minimum foot clearance. We did not find any differences between old and young in the variability of minimum foot clearance across all conditions, whereas in the other gait parameters, we found differences. Further, between normal walking and walking to auditory cues, we found interaction effects in the coefficient of variation of stride time and stride length, indicating a higher variability in walking on metronome beats in older people. Interaction effects were reverted when additionally to the auditory cuing a cognitive dual task had to be solved. Our findings show that contrary to findings in patients with neurological disorders, synchronizing stepping to rhythmic auditory cues increase stride time variability but not the variability of minimum foot clearance in healthy older adults. This effect might be due to an imposed intrinsic focus which negatively influences motor performance. Shifting this focus towards a cognitive task seems to normalize the variability of gait parameters in older individuals.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker K, Rochester L, Nieuwboer A (2008) The effect of cues on gait variability-Reducing the attentional cost of walking in people with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 14:314–320. doi:10.1016/j.parkreldis.2007.09.008
Barrett RS, Mills PM, Begg RK (2010) A systematic review of the effect of ageing and falls history on minimum foot clearance characteristics during level walking. Gait Posture 32:429–435
Beauchet O, Dubost V, Allali G, Gonthier R, Hermann FR, Kressig RW (2007) ‘Faster counting while walking’ as a predictor of falls in older adults. Age Ageing 36:418–423. doi:10.1093/ageing/afm011
Decker LM, Cignetti F, Stergiou N (2013) Executive function orchestrates regulation of task-relevant gait fluctuations. Gait Posture 38:537–540. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2012.12.018
Dingwell JB, John J, Cusumano JP (2010) Do humans optimally exploit redundancy to control step variability in walking? PLoS Comput Biol 6:e1000856. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000856
Hamacher D, Singh NB, Van Dieën JH, Heller MO, Taylor WR (2011) Kinematic measures for assessing gait stability in elderly individuals: a systematic review. J R Soc Interface 8:1682–1698. doi:10.1098/rsif.2011.0416
Hamacher D, Hamacher D, Schega L (2014a) Towards the importance of minimum toe clearance in level ground walking in a healthy elderly population. Gait Posture 40:727–729. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2014.07.016
Hamacher D, Hamacher D, Taylor WR, Singh NB, Schega L (2014b) Towards clinical application: repetitive sensor position re-calibration for improved reliability of gait parameters. Gait Posture 39:1146–1148. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2014.01.020
Hamacher D, Hamacher D, Krowicki M, Schega L (2015a) Gait variability in chronic back pain sufferers with experimentally diminished visual feedback: a pilot study. J Mot Behav. doi:10.1080/00222895.2015.1073136
Hamacher D, Hamacher D, Schega L (2015b) Does visual augmented feedback reduce local dynamic stability while walking? Gait Posture 42:415–418. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2015.07.007
Hamacher D, Herold F, Wiegel P, Hamacher D, Schega L (2015c) Brain activity during walking: a systematic review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 57:310–327. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.08.002
Hamacher D, Hamacher D, Krowicki M, Schega L (2016) Between-day test–retest reliability of gait variability in older individuals improves with a familiarization trial. Aging Clin Exp Res. doi:10.1007/s40520-016-0536-3
Hausdorff JM, Lowenthal J, Herman T, Gruendlinger L, Peretz C, Giladi N (2007) Rhythmic auditory stimulation modulates gait variability in Parkinson’s disease. Eur J Neurosci 26:2369–2375
Koenraadt KLM, Roelofsen EGJ, Duysens J, Keijsers NLW (2014) Cortical control of normal gait and precision stepping: an fNIRS study. NeuroImage 85:415–422. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.04.070
König N, Singh NB, von Beckerath J, Janke L, Taylor WR (2014) Is gait variability reliable? An assessment of spatio-temporal parameters of gait variability during continuous overground walking. Gait Posture 39:615–617. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2013.06.014
Lim I, van Wegen E, de Goede C et al (2005) Effects of external rhythmical cueing on gait in patients with Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review. Clin Rehabil 19:695–713. doi:10.1191/0269215505cr906oa
Molinari M, Leggio MG, Thaut MH (2007) The cerebellum and neural networks for rhythmic sensorimotor synchronization in the human brain. Cerebellum 6:18–23. doi:10.1080/14734220601142886
Polskaia N, Richer N, Dionne E, Lajoie Y (2015) Continuous cognitive task promotes greater postural stability than an internal or external focus of attention. Gait Posture 41:454–458. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2014.11.009
Roerdink M, Lamoth CJC, Van Kordelaar J, Elich P, Konijnenbelt M, Kwakkel G, Beek PJ (2009) Rhythm perturbations in acoustically paced treadmill walking after stroke. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 23:668–678. doi:10.1177/1545968309332879
Singh NB, König N, Arampatzis A, Heller MO, Taylor WR (2012) Extreme levels of noise constitute a key neuromuscular deficit in the elderly. PloS one 7:e48449. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048449
Terrier P, Dériaz O (2013) Non-linear dynamics of human locomotion: Effects of rhythmic auditory cueing on local dynamic stability. Frontiers in Physiology 4:1–13
Thaut MH (2005) Rhythm, music, and the brain: Scientific foundations and clinical applications. Routledge, New York
Todorov E, Jordan MI (2002) Optimal feedback control as a theory of motor coordination. Nat Neurosci 5:1226–1235
Winter DA, Patla AE, Frank JS, Walt SE (1990) Biomechanical walking pattern changes in the fit and healthy elderly. Phys Ther 70:340
Wittwer JE, Webster KE, Hill K (2013a) Effect of rhythmic auditory cueing on gait in people with alzheimer disease. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 94:718–724. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2012.11.009
Wittwer JE, Webster KE, Hill K (2013b) Music and metronome cues produce different effects on gait spatiotemporal measures but not gait variability in healthy older adults. Gait Posture 37:219–222. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2012.07.006
Wulf G (2013) Attentional focus and motor learning: a review of 15 years. Int Rev Sport Exerc Psychol 6:77–104. doi:10.1080/1750984X.2012.723728
Wulf G, Höß M, Prinz W (1998) Instructions for motor learning: differential effects of internal versus external focus of attention. J Mot Behav 30:169–179
Acknowledgments
There was no external source of support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hamacher, D., Hamacher, D., Herold, F. et al. Effect of dual tasks on gait variability in walking to auditory cues in older and young individuals. Exp Brain Res 234, 3555–3563 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-016-4754-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-016-4754-x