Conscious motor control impairs attentional processing efficiency during precision stepping
dc.contributor.author | Ellmers, TJ | |
dc.contributor.author | Young, WR | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2019-09-30T12:42:44Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2018-04-25 | |
dc.description.abstract | Background Current evidence suggests that fall-related anxiety can impair attentional processing efficiency during gait in both young and older adults, reducing the cognitive resources available for carrying out concurrent tasks (i.e., holding a conversation whilst walking or planning the safest route for navigation). Research question It has been suggested that fall-related anxiety may impair processing efficiency by directing attention ‘internally’, towards consciously controlling and monitoring movement. The present study aimed to evaluate this interpretation. Methods Fifteen healthy young adults performed a precision stepping task during both single- and dual-task (completing the stepping task while simultaneously performing an arithmetic task), under three conditions: (1) Baseline; (2) Threat (walking on a platform raised 1.1 m above ground), and; (3) Internal focus of attention (cues/instructions to direct attention towards movement processing). Results We observed significantly greater cognitive dual-task costs (i.e., poorer performance on the arithmetic task) during Threat compared to Baseline, with the greatest costs observed in individuals reporting the highest levels of Threat-induced conscious motor processing. Significantly greater cognitive dual-task costs were also observed during the Internal condition, confirming the assumption that consciously attending to movement reduces cognitive resources available for carrying out a secondary task during gait. These results were accompanied with significantly poorer stepping accuracy in dual-task trials during both Threat and Internal. Significance These findings support previous attempts to rationalise attentional processing inefficiencies observed in anxious walkers as being a consequence of an anxiety-induced internal focus of attention. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Vol. 63, pp. 58 - 62 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2018.04.033 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/38975 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Elsevier | en_GB |
dc.rights | © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/). | en_GB |
dc.subject | Anxiety | en_GB |
dc.subject | Fear of falling | en_GB |
dc.subject | Reinvestment | en_GB |
dc.subject | Internal focus | en_GB |
dc.subject | Dual-task | en_GB |
dc.subject | Gait | en_GB |
dc.title | Conscious motor control impairs attentional processing efficiency during precision stepping | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2019-09-30T12:42:44Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 0966-6362 | |
dc.description | This is the final version. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.journal | Gait & Posture | en_GB |
dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ | en_GB |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2018-04-23 | |
rioxxterms.version | VoR | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2018-04-25 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2019-09-30T12:39:13Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | VoR | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2019-09-30T12:42:47Z | |
refterms.panel | C | en_GB |
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's licence is described as © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/).