Between gait and cognition: an exploratory mixed-methods study of cognitive-motor dual-task profiles and lived experience.

BACKGROUND

Cognitive-motor dual tasking is widely studied. However, the results remain heterogeneous depending on the type of tasks and individual psychological factors. To address this variability, dual-task cost (DTC) frameworks allow classification of behavioral profiles. This study aimed to propose a method designed to identify individual determinants of dual-task (DT) behavior by combining quantitative gait and cognitive measures with qualitative analyses of lived experience.

METHODS

Thirty-three young healthy adults performed Raven's Progressive Matrices Test (RPMT) and treadmill walking in both single-task and DT conditions. Participants were classified into DT profiles according to DTC. Statistical tests were performed to assess whether the DTCs differed from zero and whether they differed between participants who reported having answered some items randomly and those who did not. Explicitation interviews were then conducted and analyzed independently of participants' quantitative DT profiles. Qualitative findings were subsequently integrated with the quantitative profiles at the interpretive stage to characterize individual DT behaviors.

RESULTS

Dual tasking significantly reduced RPMT response time (p < 0.001) without affecting gait parameters. All four DT profiles were represented, and explicitation interviews revealed distinct experiential strategies within each profile.

DISCUSSION: Distress and cognitive overload characterized mutual interference, analytical or automatized strategies supported cognitive-priority trade-offs, and relaxed immersion and positive affect facilitated mutual facilitation. Gait-priority participants reported bodily immersion and sensory detachment.

CONCLUSION

Our mixed-method approach may offer a transferable methodology for clinical contexts, where understanding patient-specific strategies is crucial for rehabilitation.