Novel Methodology Combines Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Augmented Reality to Study Dual-Tasking Effects on Prefrontal Cortex Activity and Gait Characteristics

Strategic Insights -

A recent study published in PLOS ONE has investigated the interplay between gait and attention allocation using a novel methodology combining functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and augmented reality (AR). The research, conducted by Anthony Machula and colleagues at York University, aimed to develop a more realistic paradigm for probing the relationship between attention modulation and prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity during dual-tasking. The study involved 11 healthy adults who performed six experimental tasks, including walking, walking with distraction, and walking with obstacles (both physical and virtual) with or without distraction.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study introduced a novel methodology combining fNIRS and AR to validate the use of virtual obstacles to probe for a cortical indicator of altered attention during distracted walking.
  • The experiment demonstrated moderate-to-good consistency between fNIRS and AR methods in measuring oxyhemoglobin (O2Hb) ratios and gait velocity between virtual and physical obstacles.
  • Participants showed task-dependent modulation of gait and PFC activity in response to dual-task conditions in both tasks, confirming the efficacy of AR-projected obstacles in a cognitive-motor dual-task paradigm.
  • The study highlighted the importance of considering how attention modulation during dual-tasking influences PFC activity and gait characteristics.
  • The combination of fNIRS and AR elicited task-dependent modulation in PFC activity and gait behaviors in healthy adults.

Statistics:

  • 11 healthy adults participated in the study, with a mean age of 50.9 ± 5.8 years and 5 females.
  • Intraclass correlations ranged from 0.563 to 0.886 for O2Hb ratios and gait velocity between virtual and physical obstacles, indicating moderate-to-good consistency.
  • Proportional bias in the Bland-Altman plots was observed for O2Hb.
  • Participants performed six experimental tasks: walking, walking + distraction, walking + obstacles (both physical and virtual), and walking + obstacles (both physical and virtual) + distraction.

Sources:

  • Machula et al. (2025). Prefrontal cortex activity during virtual obstacle avoidance and distracted walking: A methodological proof of concept using augmented reality and functional near-infrared spectroscopy. PLOS ONE, 20(10).
  • NewsRx. Findings from York University Provide New Insights into Science (Prefrontal cortex activity during virtual obstacle avoidance and distracted walking: A methodological proof of concept using augmented reality and functional near-infrared ...). Science Letter. October 24, 2025; p 473.