scholarly journals Effects of Cognitive Task Difficulty and Task Prioritization on Dual Task Strategy in Young Healthy Adults

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 917-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuya OHZUNO ◽  
Akira HARADA ◽  
Shigeru USUDA
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Task Strategy ◽  
Task Prioritization ◽  
And Task

scholarly journals Dual-Task Walking in Challenging Environments in People with Stroke: Cognitive-Motor Interference and Task Prioritization

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celine Timmermans ◽  
Melvyn Roerdink ◽  
Thomas W. J. Janssen ◽  
Carel G. M. Meskers ◽  
Peter J. Beek
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Repeated Measures Design ◽  
Physical Context ◽  
Cognitive Task Performance ◽  
Task Prioritization ◽  
Walking Environment ◽  
And Task

Cognitive-motor interference may contribute to the risk of falling in people with stroke, as may be the associated phenomenon of inappropriate task prioritization. Examining dual-task walking could provide valuable insights as to how to best evaluate and treat walking in people with stroke. This study aimed to examine the effect of different walking environments on cognitive-motor interference and task prioritization in dual-task walking in people with stroke. Using a repeated-measures design, cognitive-motor interference and task prioritization were assessed in 30 stroke survivors, while walking in a plain environment and in two challenging environments that were enriched with either stationary physical context or suddenly appearing projector-augmented context. All three walking environment conditions were performed with and without a concurrent serial-3 subtraction task. We found stronger cognitive-motor interference for the two challenging environments than for the plain walking environment. Cognitive-motor interference did not differ between challenging walking environments, but task prioritization did: motor performance was prioritized more in the environment with physical context than in the environment with projector-augmented context and vice versa for cognitive-task performance. In conclusion, walking environment strongly influenced cognitive-motor interference and task prioritization during dual-task walking in people with stroke.

scholarly journals MEASURING COGNITIVE TASK DEMANDS USING DUAL-TASK METHODOLOGY, SUBJECTIVE SELF-RATINGS, AND EXPERT JUDGMENTS

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 703-737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Révész ◽  
Marije Michel ◽  
Roger Gilabert
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Mental Effort ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Task Condition ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Dual Task Condition ◽  
And Task

This study explored the usefulness of dual-task methodology, self-ratings, and expert judgments in assessing task-generated cognitive demands as a way to provide validity evidence for manipulations of task complexity. The participants were 96 students and 61 English as a second language (ESL) teachers. The students, 48 English native speakers and 48 ESL speakers, carried out simple and complex versions of three oral tasks—a picture narrative, a map task, and a decision-making task. Half of the students completed the tasks under a dual-task condition. The remaining half performed the tasks under a single-task condition without a secondary task. Participants in the single condition were asked to rate their perceived mental effort and task difficulty. The ESL teachers provided expert judgments of anticipated mental effort and task difficulty along with explanations for their ratings via an online questionnaire. As predicted, the more complex task versions were found and judged to pose greater cognitive effort on most measures.

The Effect of Processing Code, Response Modality and Task Difficulty on Dual Task Performance and Subjective Workload in a Manual System

1987 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 847-851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yili Liu ◽  
Christopher D. Wickens
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Task Structure ◽  
Time Sharing ◽  
Multiple Resources ◽  
Response Modality ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
Processing Resources ◽  
And Task

We report here the first experiment of a series studying the effect of task structure and difficulty demand on time-sharing performance and workload in both automated and corresponding manual systems. The experimental task involves manual control time-shared with spatial and verbal decisions tasks of two levels of difficulty and two modes of response (voice or manual). The results provide strong evidence that tasks and processes competing for common processing resources are time shared less effectively and have higher workload than tasks competing for separate resources. Subjective measures and the structure of multiple resources are used in conjunction to predict dual task performance. The evidence comes from both single task and from dual task performance.

scholarly journals The Effect of Different Types of Walking on Dual-Task Performance and Task Prioritization among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maayan Agmon ◽  
Einat Kodesh ◽  
Rachel Kizony
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Dual Task Performance ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Task Prioritization ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

Background. The ability to safely conduct different types of walking concurrently with a cognitive task (i.e., dual task) is crucial for daily life. The contribution of different walking types to dual-task performance has not yet been determined, nor is there agreement on the strategies that older adults use to divide their attention between two tasks (task prioritization).Objectives. To compare the effect of walking in three different directions (forward, backward, and sideways) on dual-task performance and to explore the strategies of older adults to allocate their attention in response to different motor task demands.Design. A cross-sectional study.Subjects. Thirty-two (22 female) community-dwelling older adults (aged72.7±5.7years).Methods. Subjects randomly conducted single and dual task: walking to three directions separately, cognitive tasks separately, and combination of the two.Results. Walking forward was the least demanding task, during single (FW < BW, SW) (P<.001) and dual tasks (FW < BW < SW) (P<.001). The calculation of DTC revealed the same pattern (P<.001). DTC of the cognitive tasks was not significantly different among the three walking types.Conclusions. The decline mainly in the motor performance during dual task indicates that participants prioritized the cognitive task. These findings challenge the “posture first” paradigm for task prioritization.

Multimodal Measures of Mental Workload during Dual-Task Performance: Energetic Demands of Cognitive Processes

1992 ◽  
Vol 36 (18) ◽  
pp. 1413-1417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard W. Backs ◽  
Arthur M. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Visual Memory ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Mental Workload ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Processing Load ◽  
Processing Resource ◽  
Central Processing ◽  
Cognitive Components ◽  
Energetic Model

Fifteen male volunteers participated in a dual-task study in which the central processing load of visual memory and tracking tasks and the physical load of the tracking task were orthogonally manipulated to produce varying levels of task difficulty. Multiple modes of assessment were used to measure mental workload (MWL) across difficulty levels, including: performance, subjective, cardiovascular, and metabolic. To our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate metabolic change with manipulations of cognitive task difficulty; others have found only baseline-to-task changes. The relation of the metabolic demands of the task to central processing resource utilization provided support for a structural energetic model of attention that may help to explain measure dissociations. The results of the present study indicated that heart period was only sensitive to central manipulations of task difficulty that affected energetic resources. Performance and subjective MWL were sensitive to all cognitive components of the tasks. We suggest that cardiovascular measures will associate with other measures only when the manipulations of task difficulty require energetic adjustment, and would expect these measures to dissociate when energetic adjustment is not required.

A Comparison of Mental Workload in Individuals with Transtibial and Transfemoral Lower Limb Loss during Dual-Task Walking under Varying Demand

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (09) ◽  
pp. 985-997
Author(s):  
Emma P. Shaw ◽  
Jeremy C. Rietschel ◽  
Brad D. Hendershot ◽  
Alison L. Pruziner ◽  
Erik J. Wolf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Lower Limb ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Mental Workload ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cognitive Demand ◽  
Limb Loss ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Physical Demand ◽  
Varying Demand

AbstractObjectives: This study aimed to evaluate the influence of lower limb loss (LL) on mental workload by assessing neurocognitive measures in individuals with unilateral transtibial (TT) versus those with transfemoral (TF) LL while dual-task walking under varying cognitive demand. Methods: Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded as participants performed a task of varying cognitive demand while being seated or walking (i.e., varying physical demand). Results: The findings revealed both groups of participants (TT LL vs. TF LL) exhibited a similar EEG theta synchrony response as either the cognitive or the physical demand increased. Also, while individuals with TT LL maintained similar performance on the cognitive task during seated and walking conditions, those with TF LL exhibited performance decrements (slower response times) on the cognitive task during the walking in comparison to the seated conditions. Furthermore, those with TF LL neither exhibited regional differences in EEG low-alpha power while walking, nor EEG high-alpha desynchrony as a function of cognitive task difficulty while walking. This lack of alpha modulation coincided with no elevation of theta/alpha ratio power as a function of cognitive task difficulty in the TF LL group. Conclusions: This work suggests that both groups share some common but also different neurocognitive features during dual-task walking. Although all participants were able to recruit neural mechanisms critical for the maintenance of cognitive-motor performance under elevated cognitive or physical demands, the observed differences indicate that walking with a prosthesis, while concurrently performing a cognitive task, imposes additional cognitive demand in individuals with more proximal levels of amputation.

Diurnal effects of illuminance on performance: Exploring the moderating role of cognitive domain and task difficulty

2021 ◽  
pp. 147715352199064
Author(s):  
T Ru ◽  
KCHJ Smolders ◽  
Q Chen ◽  
G Zhou ◽  
YAW de Kort
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Sustained Attention ◽  
Response Inhibition ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Conflict Monitoring ◽  
Subjective Sleepiness ◽  
And Task

Literature has occasionally reported acute effects of office illuminance on cognitive performance during daytime. The current study was conducted to systematically investigate whether the type of task and level of task difficulty moderate the effect of daytime illuminance on cognitive functioning. Thirty healthy participants were assigned to high (∼1036 lux at eye level; melanopic EDI = 904 lux) vs. low (∼108 lux at eye level, melanopic EDI = 87 lux) illuminance (at 6500 K) during working hours, in which participants were tested on both easy and difficult versions of tasks probing sustained attention, response inhibition, conflict monitoring and working memory. Subjective sleepiness and mood were also measured. Results revealed that exposure to high vs. low illuminance significantly improved speed on the response inhibition task, and accuracy and speed on the working memory tasks. Moreover, when effects arose, these were moderated by task difficulty, consistently showing more pronounced effects for easy than for difficult trials. Notably, subjective sleepiness and negative mood remained unaffected by illuminance, and no statistically significant effects emerged for sustained attention and conflict monitoring. This study demonstrates that the diurnal cognitive effects of illuminance may be moderated by both types of cognitive task and task difficulty.

scholarly journals Dual task prioritization during overground and treadmill walking

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Graeme Wrightson ◽  
Nicholas J Smeeton ◽  
lisa Schäfer
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Treadmill Walking ◽  
Time Variability ◽  
Overground Walking ◽  
Task Effect ◽  
Cognitive Task Performance ◽  
Walking Performance ◽  
Task Prioritization

AbstractBackgroundThe dual-task effect on walking performance is different during treadmill and overground walking, though the cause of this difference is unknown. This study examined the effects of task prioritization on overground and treadmill dual-task walking. MethodTwenty-two adults walked overground and on a treadmill under three dual-task conditions: prioritization of walking performance, prioritization of cognitive performance, or no prioritization. ResultsCompared to single-task walking, stride velocity was reduced and stride time variability was increased during dual-task overground walking. During treadmill walking, there was no dual-task effect on walking performance, but cognitive task performance was improved. Prioritization of the cognitive task reduced the dual-task effect on stride velocity during overground walking only, whilst prioritization of the walking task reduced cognitive task performance in both walking modalities. SignificanceThese results corroborate recent findings that the dual-task effects on treadmill walking are not equivalent to those on overground walking. Healthy adults appear to prioritize cognitive task performance during dual-task walking. However, the effects of this prioritization on dual-task performance depend on the walking modality.

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