Effects of a secondary mental task and additional auditory feedback on body movements and EEG

Aditya, Swapno; Clarke, Adam; Armitage, Lucy; Pappas, Evangelos; Traynor, Victoria; Lee, Winson Chiu-Chun · 2026 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1007/s00221-026-07313-x

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Summary

This study investigates how auditory pacing biofeedback influences motor performance and neural activity during dual-task conditions. While previous research established that secondary cognitive loads impair movement, it remained unclear whether external auditory cues could mitigate these deficits. The authors aimed to determine if auditory pacing could restore lower-limb movement quality and reduce cognitive-motor demand when participants performed a concurrent mental task. The researchers employed a repeated-measures experimental design with eighteen healthy young adults. Participants underwent three randomized conditions: (1) single-task foot tapping, (2) dual-task foot tapping combined with a visual flanker cognitive task, and (3) dual-task foot tapping with the addition of individualized auditory pacing biofeedback. Kinematic data were collected using Xsens inertial motion units to measure ankle joint range of motion (ROM), angular velocity, and variability. Simultaneously, electroencephalography (EEG) recorded brain activity, specifically analyzing relative power in beta (13–24 Hz) and high-beta (24–39 Hz) frequency bands. Statistical analysis utilized multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with Benjamini-Hochberg corrections for pairwise comparisons. Results indicated that the dual-task condition significantly impaired motor performance compared to the single-task condition. Specifically, dual-tasking reduced ankle ROM (p < 0.01) and right ankle velocity (p < 0.01), while increasing the coefficient of variation for ankle joint angles (p < 0.05), indicating greater movement variability. Neurologically, the dual-task condition elicited a significant increase in relative high-beta power in central brain regions (p = 0.015), reflecting heightened cognitive-motor demand. However, the addition of auditory pacing biofeedback in the third condition reversed these effects. Kinematic measures, including ROM and velocity, returned to levels statistically indistinguishable from the single-task baseline. Furthermore, cognitive task response times decreased significantly (from 825 ms to 744 ms, p = 0.005) without compromising accuracy, and relative high-beta power was significantly reduced compared to the dual-task condition alone (p = 0.023). The findings demonstrate that auditory pacing biofeedback can effectively restore movement quality and reduce neural markers of cognitive load during dual-tasking. The reduction in high-beta power suggests that external rhythmic cues may facilitate sensorimotor entrainment or allow for the adaptive reallocation of cognitive resources, thereby alleviating the bottleneck effects associated with multitasking. These results support the utility of auditory cueing interventions for maintaining motor performance under cognitive stress, with implications for rehabilitation and safety-critical tasks like driving. The authors conclude that future research should further dissociate the specific contributions of entrainment versus cognitive workload reduction.

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• neuro workload indices