Concurrent listening impairs compensatory postural control mechanisms in middle and late adulthood.

ABSTRACT: Multitasking involving sensorimotor functions has been shown to affect older more than young adults but little is known about whether related challenges already emerge in middle adulthood. Here we compare 21 younger (18-30 years of age), 23 middle-aged (45-65 years of age) and 19 older participants (66-81 years of age) who listened to and memorized spoken words while they tried to maintain a stable posture on a force platform. The number of words in the listening task was adjusted to individual single-task levels and cognitive control demands were manipulated by presenting words from either the same or switching target speakers. Postural control demands were varied by manipulating proprioceptive reliability (stable stance or sway-referencing). Young adults' listening and postural control r

SUBMITTER: Van Humbeeck N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12043164 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature