The Influence of Gender on Dual Task Performance in Young Healthy Adults

Dual tasking (DT), or the act of conducting multiple, simultaneous tasks, is wide spread in daily life .In particular, the vast majority of mobility tasks we complete (e.g., standing, walking, stepping, etc.) occur while distracted by another motor and/or cognitive task. A common feature of DT is that performance on one or both tasks is diminished when completed together .Understanding the relationship between gender and dual task performance is important because this knowledge could help inform us the development of interventions or training programs that target these differences and improve overall performance. Aims: To investigate the gender-related differences in single task performance through motor torque, cognitive tasks and walking speed, and the combined dual-task costs considering both motor and cognitive performance in a sample of young adults