TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2017//
TI  - Increasing cognitive load attenuates right arm swing in healthy human walking
JO  - Royal Society open science
A1  - Killeen, Tim
A1  - Easthope, Christopher S.
A1  - Filli, Linard
A1  - Lőrincz, Lilla
A1  - Schrafl-Altermatt, Miriam
A1  - Brugger, Peter
A1  - Linnebank, Michael
A1  - Curt, Armin
A1  - Zörner, Björn
A1  - Bolliger, Marc
SP  - e160993
EP  - e160993
VL  - 4
IS  - 1
N2  - Human arm swing looks and feels highly automated, yet it is increasingly apparent that higher centres, including the cortex, are involved in many aspects of locomotor control. The addition of a cognitive task increases arm swing asymmetry during walking, but the characteristics and mechanism of this asymmetry are unclear. We hypothesized that this effect is lateralized and a Stroop word-colour naming task-primarily involving left hemisphere structures-would reduce right arm swing only. We recorded gait in 83 healthy subjects aged 18-80 walking normally on a treadmill and while performing a congruent and incongruent Stroop task. The primary measure of arm swing asymmetry-an index based on both three-dimensional wrist trajectories in which positive values indicate proportionally smaller movements on the right-increased significantly under dual-task conditions in those aged 40-59 and further still in the over-60s, driven by reduced right arm flexion. Right arm swing attenuation appears to be the norm in humans performing a locomotor-cognitive dual-task, confirming a prominent role of the brain in locomotor behaviour. Women under 60 are surprisingly resistant to this effect, revealing unexpected gender differences atop the hierarchical chain of locomotor control.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2054-5703
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160993
ID  - ref1
ER  -