| Title | Reduction of Dual-task Costs by Noninvasive Modulation of Prefrontal Activity in Healthy Elders |
| Authors | Manor, Brad Zhou, Junhong Jor'dan, Azizah Zhang, Jue Fang, Jing Pascual-Leone, Alvaro |
| Affiliation | Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA USA. Beth Israel Deaconess Med Ctr, Boston, MA 02215 USA. Harvard Univ, Sch Med, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA. Peking Univ, Beijing 100871, Peoples R China. Peking Univ, Coll Engn, Beijing 100871, Peoples R China. |
| Keywords | DIRECT-CURRENT STIMULATION HUMAN MOTOR CORTEX OLDER-ADULTS POSTURAL CONTROL COGNITIVE RESERVE BRAIN-STIMULATION WORKING-MEMORY PERFORMANCE GAIT WALKING |
| Issue Date | 2016 |
| Publisher | JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE |
| Citation | JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE.2016,28,(2),275-281. |
| Abstract | Dual tasking (e.g., walking or standing while performing a cognitive task) disrupts performance in one or both tasks, and such dual-task costs increase with aging into senescence. Dual tasking activates a network of brain regions including pFC. We therefore hypothesized that facilitation of prefrontal cortical activity via transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) would reduce dual-task costs in older adults. Thirty-seven healthy older adults completed two visits during which dual tasking was assessed before and after 20 min of real or sham tDCS targeting the left pFC. Trials of single-task standing, walking, and verbalized serial subtractions were completed, along with dual-task trials of standing or walking while performing serial subtractions. Dual-task costs were calculated as the percent change in markers of gait and postural control and serial subtraction performance, from single to dual tasking. Significant dual-task costs to standing, walking, and serial subtraction performance were observed before tDCS (p < .01). These dual-task costs were less after real tDCS as compared with sham tDCS as well as compared with either pre-tDCS condition (p < .03). Further analyses indicated that tDCS did not alter single task performance but instead improved performance solely within dual-task conditions (p < .02). These results demonstrate that dual tasking can be improved by modulating prefrontal activity, thus indicating that dual-task decrements are modifiable and may not necessarily reflect an obligatory consequence of aging. Moreover, tDCS may ultimately serve as a novel approach to preserving dual-task capacity into senescence. |
| URI | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11897/436050 |
| ISSN | 0898-929X |
| DOI | 10.1162/jocn_a_00897 |
| Indexed | SCI(E) PubMed SSCI |
| Appears in Collections: | 工学院 |
