Using dual task walking as an aid to assess executive dysfunction ecologically in neurological populations: A narrative review

Abstract

Within rehabilitation, clinical assessment plays a crucial role in diagnosis, prognostication and making decisions about return to function. The ecological validity of the assessment of executive dysfunction has become a particular focus in neuropsychology and is gaining interest in mobility research and neurological rehabilitation of acquired brain injury or degenerative neurological diseases. In this narrative review, we look at how the task of walking and the inseparable cognitive demands and interference of the surrounding environment are exploited in dual task walking (DTW) paradigms to expose executive dysfunction. While quite a number of studies and reviews have recently focused on the utility of DTW for gait assessment, particularly to assess fall risk, very little consideration has been given to the level of ecological validity required. This paper directly addresses this issue with discussion of evidence and lacunas related to task, personal and technological factors that should be addressed in order to exploit fully DTW paradigms as an ecological assessment tool.

Keywords: Cognition; Gait; Locomotion; Multi-tasking.