Mobile EEG Reveals Age-Dependent Cognitive-Motor Interference with Increasing Motor Task Complexity-a cross-sectional study

Published October 20, 2026. Mobile EEG captured age-related differences as people combined a choice task with standing and walking. The study shows how portable recording can examine cognition during movement, but it did not test a treatment or demonstrate clinical benefit.

Wollesen B, Winter L, Gramann K, Protzak J.
Brain Research Bulletin · Publication date: 2026-10-20
Added to site: 2026-10-21
DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2026.112173

Published online October 20, 2026, per PubMed. Added to Neurofeedback.com October 21, 2026.

Modalities

Mobile EEG, ERP

Clinical focus

Aging, Cognitive-motor interference, Dual-task walking

Population

Healthy younger and older adults

Sample

30 participants: 19 younger adults and 11 older adults

Intervention / method

Mobile EEG during an oddball choice-reaction task while sitting, standing and walking on a treadmill, with P1, N1 and P3 event-related potentials, response time, sway and gait measured

Comparator

Within-person motor-condition comparisons and between-age-group comparison

Clinician summary

Response times were slower in older adults and rose with motor complexity. P3 amplitude fell during walking in both groups, P3 latency was delayed in older adults and longer P3 latency tracked slower responses. Dual-task gait and sway did not change, so the findings point to altered cognitive-resource allocation rather than measured motor deterioration.

How to interpret the findings

This small cross-sectional study included 30 healthy participants, with only 11 older adults. Treadmill tasks may not generalize to everyday mobility, associations are not causal, and multiple ERP and behavioral measures increase the risk of selective interpretation. No clinical outcome was tested.

Equipment and disclosures

The accessible abstract did not identify the mobile EEG manufacturer or channel configuration. No BrainMaster attribution is made.

The indexed record reports no known competing financial interests or personal relationships. Funding was not identified in the checked abstract. No correction, retraction or concern relation appeared in the retained Crossref record; this is a bounded check. AI-assisted review.

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