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Paas Oliveros LK, Pieczykolan A, Pläschke RN, Eickhoff SB, Langner R. Response-code conflict in dual-task interference and its modulation by age. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2023; 87:260-280. [PMID: 35122495 PMCID: PMC9352817 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-021-01639-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Difficulties in performing two tasks at once can arise from several sources and usually increase in advanced age. Tasks with concurrent bimodal (e.g., manual and oculomotor) responding to single stimuli consistently revealed crosstalk between conflicting response codes as a relevant source. However, how this finding translates to unimodal (i.e., manual only) response settings and how it is affected by age remains open. To address this issue, we had young and older adults respond to high- or low-pitched tones with one (single task) or both hands concurrently (dual task). Responses were either compatible or incompatible with the pitch. When responses with the same level of compatibility were combined in dual-task conditions, their response codes were congruent to each other, whereas combining a compatible and an incompatible response created mutually incongruent (i.e., conflicting) response codes, potentially inducing detrimental crosstalk. Across age groups, dual-task costs indeed were overall highest with response-code incongruency. In these trials, compatible responses exhibited higher costs than incompatible ones, even after removing trials with strongly synchronized responses. This underadditive cost asymmetry argues against mutual crosstalk as the sole source of interference and corroborates notions of strategic prioritization of limited processing capacity based on mapping-selection difficulty. As expected, the effects of incongruent response codes were found to be especially deleterious in older adults, supporting assumptions of age-related deficits in multiple-action control at the level of task-shielding. Overall, our results suggest that aging is linked to higher response confusability and less efficient flexibility for capacity sharing in dual-task settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lya K. Paas Oliveros
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7: Brain and Behaviour), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany ,Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Aleks Pieczykolan
- Institute of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany ,Human Technology Center, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Rachel N. Pläschke
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Simon B. Eickhoff
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7: Brain and Behaviour), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany ,Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Robert Langner
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7: Brain and Behaviour), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany ,Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Mueckstein M, Heinzel S, Granacher U, Brahms M, Rapp MA, Stelzel C. Modality-specific effects of mental fatigue in multitasking. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2022; 230:103766. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022] Open
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3
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Brahms M, Heinzel S, Rapp M, Mückstein M, Hortobágyi T, Stelzel C, Granacher U. The acute effects of mental fatigue on balance performance in healthy young and older adults - A systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2022; 225:103540. [PMID: 35245722 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 01/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive resources contribute to balance control. There is evidence that mental fatigue reduces cognitive resources and impairs balance performance, particularly in older adults and when balance tasks are complex, for example when trying to walk or stand while concurrently performing a secondary cognitive task. We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science and Google Scholar to identify eligible studies and performed a random effects meta-analysis to quantify the effects of experimentally induced mental fatigue on balance performance in healthy adults. Subgroup analyses were computed for age (healthy young vs. healthy older adults) and balance task complexity (balance tasks with high complexity vs. balance tasks with low complexity) to examine the moderating effects of these factors on fatigue-mediated balance performance. We identified 7 eligible studies with 9 study groups and 206 participants. Analysis revealed that performing a prolonged cognitive task had a small but significant effect (SMDwm = -0.38) on subsequent balance performance in healthy young and older adults. However, age- and task-related differences in balance responses to fatigue could not be confirmed statistically. Overall, aggregation of the available literature indicates that mental fatigue generally reduces balance in healthy adults. However, interactions between cognitive resource reduction, aging and balance task complexity remain elusive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Brahms
- Division of Training and Movement Sciences, Research Focus Cognition Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Stephan Heinzel
- Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Rapp
- University of Potsdam, Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, Division of Social and Preventive Medicine, Am Neuen Palais 10, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Marie Mückstein
- International Psychoanalytic University, Stromstraße 1, 10555 Berlin, Germany
| | - Tibor Hortobágyi
- University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; Department of Sport Biology, Institute of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary; Somogy County Kaposi Mór Teaching Hospital, Kaposvár, Hungary
| | - Christine Stelzel
- International Psychoanalytic University, Stromstraße 1, 10555 Berlin, Germany
| | - Urs Granacher
- Division of Training and Movement Sciences, Research Focus Cognition Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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Stojan R, Kaushal N, Bock OL, Hudl N, Voelcker-Rehage C. Benefits of Higher Cardiovascular and Motor Coordinative Fitness on Driving Behavior Are Mediated by Cognitive Functioning: A Path Analysis. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:686499. [PMID: 34267646 PMCID: PMC8277437 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.686499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Driving is an important skill for older adults to maintain an independent lifestyle, and to preserve the quality of life. However, the ability to drive safely in older adults can be compromised by age-related cognitive decline. Performing an additional task during driving (e.g., adjusting the radio) increases cognitive demands and thus might additionally impair driving performance. Cognitive functioning has been shown to be positively related to physical activity/fitness such as cardiovascular and motor coordinative fitness. As such, a higher fitness level might be associated with higher cognitive resources and may therefore benefit driving performance under dual-task conditions. For the first time, the present study investigated whether this association of physical fitness and cognitive functioning causes an indirect relationship between physical fitness and dual-task driving performance through cognitive functions. Data from 120 healthy older adults (age: 69.56 ± 3.62, 53 female) were analyzed. Participants completed tests on cardiovascular fitness (cardiorespiratory capacity), motor coordinative fitness (composite score: static balance, psychomotor speed, bimanual dexterity), and cognitive functions (updating, inhibition, shifting, cognitive processing speed). Further, they performed a virtual car driving scenario where they additionally engaged in cognitively demanding tasks that were modeled after typical real-life activities during driving (typing or reasoning). Structural equation modeling (path analysis) was used to investigate whether cardiovascular and motor coordinative fitness were indirectly associated with lane keeping (i.e., variability in lateral position) and speed control (i.e., average velocity) while dual-task driving via cognitive functions. Both cardiovascular and motor coordinative fitness demonstrated the hypothesized indirect effects on dual-task driving. Motor coordinative fitness showed a significant indirect effect on lane keeping, while cardiovascular fitness demonstrated a trend-level indirect effect on speed control. Moreover, both fitness domains were positively related to different cognitive functions (processing speed and/or updating), and cognitive functions (updating or inhibition), in turn, were related to dual-task driving. These findings indicate that cognitive benefits associated with higher fitness may facilitate driving performance. Given that driving with lower cognitive capacity can result in serious consequences, this study emphasizes the importance for older adults to engage in a physically active lifestyle as it might serve as a preventive measure for driving safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Stojan
- Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
- Institute of Human Movement Science and Health, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Navin Kaushal
- School of Health & Human Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IA, United States
| | - Otmar Leo Bock
- Institute of Human Movement Science and Health, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
- Institute of Exercise Training and Sport Informatics, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Nicole Hudl
- Institute of Human Movement Science and Health, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Claudia Voelcker-Rehage
- Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
- Institute of Human Movement Science and Health, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
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Brahms M, Heinzel S, Rapp M, Reisner V, Wahmkow G, Rimpel J, Schauenburg G, Stelzel C, Granacher U. Cognitive-Postural Multitasking Training in Older Adults - Effects of Input-Output Modality Mappings on Cognitive Performance and Postural Control. J Cogn 2021; 4:20. [PMID: 33748665 PMCID: PMC7954177 DOI: 10.5334/joc.146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Older adults exhibit impaired cognitive and balance performance, particularly under multi-task conditions, which can be improved through training. Compatibility of modality mappings in cognitive tasks (i.e., match between stimulus modality and anticipated sensory effects of motor responses), modulates physical and cognitive dual-task costs. However, the effects of modality specific training programs have not been evaluated yet. Here, we tested the effects of cognitive-postural multi-tasking training on the ability to coordinate task mappings under high postural demands in healthy older adults. Twenty-one adults aged 65-85 years were assigned to one of two groups. While group 1 performed cognitive-postural triple-task training with compatible modality mappings (i.e., visual-manual and auditory-vocal dual n-back tasks), group 2 performed the same tasks with incompatible modality mappings (i.e., visual-vocal and auditory-manual n-back tasks). Throughout the 6-weeks balance training intervention, working-memory load was gradually increased while base-of-support was reduced. Before training (T0), after a 6-week passive control period (T1), and immediately after the intervention (T2), participants performed spatial dual one-back tasks in semi-tandem stance position. Our results indicate improved working-memory performance and reduced dual-task costs for both groups after the passive control period, but no training-specific performance gains. Furthermore, balance performance did not improve in response to training. Notably, the cohort demonstrated meaningful interindividual variability in training responses. Our findings raise questions about practice effects and age-related heterogeneity of training responses following cognitive-motor training. Following multi-modal balance training, neither compatible nor incompatible modality mappings had an impact on the observed outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Brahms
- Division of Training and Movement Sciences, Research Focus Cognition Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Stephan Heinzel
- Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Rapp
- University of Potsdam, Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, Division of Social and Preventive Medicine, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Volker Reisner
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gunnar Wahmkow
- Division of Training and Movement Sciences, Research Focus Cognition Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Jérôme Rimpel
- Division of Training and Movement Sciences, Research Focus Cognition Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Gesche Schauenburg
- Division of Training and Movement Sciences, Research Focus Cognition Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | | | - Urs Granacher
- Division of Training and Movement Sciences, Research Focus Cognition Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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Does attention switching between multiple tasks affect gait stability and task performance differently between younger and older adults? Exp Brain Res 2020; 238:2819-2831. [PMID: 33025032 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-020-05938-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Gait stability and secondary task performance are affected by the need to share attention when dual-tasking. Further decrements may result from the need to switch attention between multiple secondary tasks. The aim of the current study was to determine the effects of attention switching upon gait stability and task performance in healthy younger and older adults. Ten healthy younger and ten healthy older adults walked on a treadmill at their preferred speed during three trials including: (1) baseline walking; (2) non-switching task walking, requiring response to an auditory-spatial or visual-spatial cue presented in an expected order; and (3) switching task walking, which required response to an auditory-spatial or visual-spatial cue presented in an unexpected order. Response time and accuracy, the margin of stability in the frontal (MoSML) and sagittal planes (MoSA: anterior, MoSP: posterior), step width and step length were calculated for non-switching and switching tasks. The MoSML, MoSA, MoSP, step width and step length during non-switching and switching tasks were normalized to baseline walking. Older adults took significantly longer to respond to cues and made more errors during the switching task compared to younger adults. Younger adults took narrower steps (p < 0.01) and displayed a reduction in MoSML (p < 0.01) during the switching task compared with the non-switching task. Conversely, older adults displayed no differences in MoSML between tasks. These findings suggest that attention switching results in different task prioritization strategies in younger and older adults during walking.
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Bohle H, Rimpel J, Schauenburg G, Gebel A, Stelzel C, Heinzel S, Rapp M, Granacher U. Behavioral and Neural Correlates of Cognitive-Motor Interference during Multitasking in Young and Old Adults. Neural Plast 2019; 2019:9478656. [PMID: 31582967 PMCID: PMC6748191 DOI: 10.1155/2019/9478656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2018] [Revised: 04/14/2019] [Accepted: 06/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The concurrent performance of cognitive and postural tasks is particularly impaired in old adults and associated with an increased risk of falls. Biological aging of the cognitive and postural control system appears to be responsible for increased cognitive-motor interference effects. We examined neural and behavioral markers of motor-cognitive dual-task performance in young and old adults performing spatial one-back working memory single and dual tasks during semitandem stance. On the neural level, we used EEG to test for age-related modulations in the frequency domain related to cognitive-postural task load. Twenty-eight healthy young and 30 old adults participated in this study. The tasks included a postural single task, a cognitive-postural dual task, and a cognitive-postural triple task (cognitive dual-task with postural demands). Postural sway (i.e., total center of pressure displacements) was recorded in semistance position on an unstable surface that was placed on top of a force plate while performing cognitive tasks. Neural activation was recorded using a 64-channel mobile EEG system. EEG frequencies were attenuated by the baseline postural single-task condition and demarcated in nine Regions-of-Interest (ROIs), i.e., anterior, central, posterior, over the cortical midline, and both hemispheres. Our findings revealed impaired cognitive dual-task performance in old compared to young participants in the form of significantly lower cognitive performance in the triple-task condition. Furthermore, old adults compared with young adults showed significantly larger postural sway, especially in cognitive-postural task conditions. With respect to EEG frequencies, young compared to old participants showed significantly lower alpha-band activity in cognitive-cognitive-postural triple-task conditions compared with cognitive-postural dual tasks. In addition, with increasing task difficulty, we observed synchronized theta and delta frequencies, irrespective of age. Task-dependent alterations of the alpha frequency band were most pronounced over frontal and central ROIs, while alterations of the theta and delta frequency bands were found in frontal, central, and posterior ROIs. Theta and delta synchronization exhibited a decrease from anterior to posterior regions. For old adults, task difficulty was reflected by theta synchronization in the posterior ROI. For young adults, it was reflected by alpha desynchronization in bilateral anterior ROIs. In addition, we could not identify any effects of task difficulty and age on the beta frequency band. Our results shed light on age-related cognitive and postural declines and how they interact. Modulated alpha frequencies during high cognitive-postural task demands in young but not old adults might be reflective of a constrained neural adaptive potential in old adults. Future studies are needed to elucidate associations between the identified age-related performance decrements with task difficulty and changes in brain activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Bohle
- University of Potsdam, Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, Division of Social and Preventive Medicine, Am Neuen Palais 10, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
- International Psychoanalytic University, Stromstraße 3b, 10555 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jérôme Rimpel
- University of Potsdam, Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, Division of Training and Movement Science, Am Neuen Palais 10, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Gesche Schauenburg
- University of Potsdam, Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, Division of Training and Movement Science, Am Neuen Palais 10, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Arnd Gebel
- University of Potsdam, Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, Division of Training and Movement Science, Am Neuen Palais 10, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Christine Stelzel
- International Psychoanalytic University, Stromstraße 3b, 10555 Berlin, Germany
| | - Stephan Heinzel
- Freie Universität Berlin, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Rapp
- University of Potsdam, Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, Division of Social and Preventive Medicine, Am Neuen Palais 10, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Urs Granacher
- University of Potsdam, Research Focus Cognitive Sciences, Division of Training and Movement Science, Am Neuen Palais 10, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
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Stelzel C, Bohle H, Schauenburg G, Walter H, Granacher U, Rapp MA, Heinzel S. Contribution of the Lateral Prefrontal Cortex to Cognitive-Postural Multitasking. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1075. [PMID: 30034351 PMCID: PMC6043684 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
There is evidence for cortical contribution to the regulation of human postural control. Interference from concurrently performed cognitive tasks supports this notion, and the lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC) has been suggested to play a prominent role in the processing of purely cognitive as well as cognitive-postural dual tasks. The degree of cognitive-motor interference varies greatly between individuals, but it is unresolved whether individual differences in the recruitment of specific lPFC regions during cognitive dual tasking are associated with individual differences in cognitive-motor interference. Here, we investigated inter-individual variability in a cognitive-postural multitasking situation in healthy young adults (n = 29) in order to relate these to inter-individual variability in lPFC recruitment during cognitive multitasking. For this purpose, a one-back working memory task was performed either as single task or as dual task in order to vary cognitive load. Participants performed these cognitive single and dual tasks either during upright stance on a balance pad that was placed on top of a force plate or during fMRI measurement with little to no postural demands. We hypothesized dual one-back task performance to be associated with lPFC recruitment when compared to single one-back task performance. In addition, we expected individual variability in lPFC recruitment to be associated with postural performance costs during concurrent dual one-back performance. As expected, behavioral performance costs in postural sway during dual-one back performance largely varied between individuals and so did lPFC recruitment during dual one-back performance. Most importantly, individuals who recruited the right mid-lPFC to a larger degree during dual one-back performance also showed greater postural sway as measured by larger performance costs in total center of pressure displacements. This effect was selective to the high-load dual one-back task and suggests a crucial role of the right lPFC in allocating resources during cognitive-motor interference. Our study provides further insight into the mechanisms underlying cognitive-motor multitasking and its impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Stelzel
- Division of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.,Experimental Psychology, International Psychoanalytic University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hannah Bohle
- Division of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.,Experimental Psychology, International Psychoanalytic University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gesche Schauenburg
- Division of Training and Movement Science, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Henrik Walter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Berlin Universitätsmedizin, Corporate Member of Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Charité - Berlin Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Urs Granacher
- Division of Training and Movement Science, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Michael A Rapp
- Division of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Stephan Heinzel
- Division of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.,Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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