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The Effects Of Word Length, Articulation, Oral-Motor Movement, And Lexicality On Gait: A Pilot Study, K. Davie, Janis Cardy, J. Holmes, M. Gagnon, A. Hyde, M. Jenkins, Andrew Johnson

Andrew M. Johnson

Previous research has suggested that articulatory demands are important predictors of the impact of dual-task interference on spatial-temporal parameters of gait. In this study, we evaluated the effects of word length, oral-motor movement, articulation, and lexicality, within a verbal task, on a continuous gait task. Fifteen healthy young women participated in a study in which two word lengths (monosyllabic and bisyllabic) were crossed with four levels of secondary task complexity (no dual-task, non-speech movement, spoken non-word, and spoken word). Spatial and temporal parameters of gait were measured using a 23' instrumented carpet. Results indicated a significant multivariate main effect for …