AIM Simultaneous performances of motor and attention-demanding tasks are common in activities of everyday life. The present cross-sectional study examined the changes and age-related differences on mobility performance with an additional cognitive or motor task, and evaluated the relative dual-task cost (DTC) on the motor performance in young, middle-aged and older women. METHODS A total of 3...

In everyday life, humans interact with a dynamic environment often requiring rapid adaptation of visual perception and motor control. In particular, new visuo-motor mappings must be learned while old skills have to be kept, such that after adaptation, subjects may be able to quickly change between two different modes of generating movements ('dual-adaptation'). A fundamental question is how the...

People perform dual task performances involving cognitive and motor processes. For example, a skilled typist can type while holding a conversation. The cerebellum plays a key role in allowing individuals to perform these kinds of tasks simultaneously. In the performance of these dual tasks, motor movements are " automatic " or trivial to many individuals and thus, do not require explicit attent...

PURPOSE We analysed the cognitive influence on walking in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, in the absence of clinical disability. METHOD A case-control study was conducted with 12 MS patients with no disability and 12 matched healthy controls. Subjects were referred for completion a timed walk test of 10 m and a 3D-kinematic analysis. Participants were instructed to walk at a comfortable spe...

Performing two cognitive tasks at the same time can degrade performance for either domain-general reasons (e.g., both tasks require attention) or domain-specific reasons (e.g., both tasks require visual working memory). We tested predictions of these two accounts of interference on the task of driving while using language, a naturally occurring dual task. Using language and driving a vehicle us...

Motor variability is an inherent feature of all human movements and reflects the quality of functional task performance. Depending on the requirements of the motor task, the human sensory-motor system is thought to be able to flexibly govern the appropriate level of variability. However, it remains unclear which neurophysiological structures are responsible for the control of motor variability....

When people perform two tasks simultaneously, the tasks are often executed slower and with more errors than when they are carried out as single tasks. This is called dual task interference. With functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we show that concurrently performed visual and somatosensory reaction time (RT) tasks engage almost identical volumes of cortical and subcortical motor stru...

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 compa...

As tape recording density increases, high-frequency track following capability of the tape head actuator becomes more important. This paper details the mechanical design and experimental analysis of a dual state actuator tape head. The dual stage actuator design combines a traditional voice coil motor for low frequency track following with a piezoelectric actuator for high-frequency track follo...

This paper presents the control approach for single inverter dual coupled brushless DC motors (DCBLDC) drive system. One of the basic requirements of such systems, is the power balance between two motors and on the other hand, minimizing mechanical fluctuations in order to avoid mechanical equipment damage especially in the state of mechanical resonance. This paper also presents an improved for...