Walking while doing a thinking task affects gait and task accuracy
A meta-analysis in healthy people found interference in walking measures and cognitive-task accuracy, but no clear effect on reaction time.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review found evidence of interference when healthy people combined walking with a cognitive task, affecting gait measures and task accuracy. Reaction times did not show an overall effect, and the analysis detected no age-group effect. Because tasks and measurements varied substantially, the abstract cannot identify a single test that best captures this interference.
The abstract provides no pooled effect sizes, confidence intervals or detailed participant characteristics. It also describes considerable variation in tasks and measurements, limiting interpretation of the magnitude and consistency of interference.
What researchers found
Gait measures and cognitive-task accuracy
Combined walking and cognitive tasks versus tasks performed separately; experimental task duration was not reported. No numerical pooled effect estimate was provided.
What the researchers compared
The analysis covered overground walking and examined walking patterns, including spatial and timing measures, alongside cognitive performance. This addresses performance during combined tasks, without establishing changes in disease risk or everyday independence.
Why the null findings matter
Reaction time and accuracy are different aspects of cognitive performance, so an accuracy finding does not imply slower responses. Likewise, failure to detect an age-group effect does not establish that interference is identical across ages.
The original publication
Effects of cognitive-motor interference during walking: A meta-analysis on healthy individuals.
Maiocchi C, Milanesi M, Canessa N et al.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41308968
- Record checked
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