Increasing cognitive load attenuates right arm swing in healthy human walking.

摘要: 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 a cognitive task increases asymmetry during walking, but characteristics mechanism this unclear. We hypothesized effect lateralized Stroop word-colour naming task-primarily involving left hemisphere structures-would reduce right only. recorded gait 83 healthy subjects aged 18-80 walking normally on treadmill while performing congruent incongruent task. primary measure asymmetry-an index based both three-dimensional wrist trajectories which positive values indicate proportionally smaller movements right-increased significantly under dual-task conditions those 40-59 further still over-60s, driven by reduced flexion. Right attenuation appears to be norm humans locomotor-cognitive dual-task, confirming prominent role brain behaviour. Women 60 surprisingly resistant effect, revealing unexpected gender differences atop hierarchical chain