At-home executive function training group
cognitive and gait
After the Pre-Training phase, participants randomized to the executive function training group will complete an at-home computerized cognitive training program three times a week for a total of 12 weeks (each session lasting 30 min). The training protocol will involve a custom-written program that has been used in previous research studies assessing cognitive and gait outcomes, but was previously administered in a controlled laboratory environment [The Stroop module aims to improve inhibition and task-switching using four separate conditions (familiarization, reading, inhibition, and switching) presented at different points throughout the training period. Participants will be required to press the appropriate letter key on their keyboard or press the appropriate button on their tablet, based on the condition presented. In the familiarization condition, a single letter will be presented on the screen. In the reading condition, asterisks will form a letter on the screen. In the inhibition condition, smaller letters will make up a larger letter (e.g., copies of small letters “L” to form a larger “H”), and participants will need to inhibit the automatic response of indicating what the smaller letter is, and instead indicate what larger letter is formed. In the switching condition, participants will need to alternate between reporting the smaller letters presented, or the larger letters that are formed, depending on the goal as indicated by whether a white frame is surrounding the group of letters or not.The visual The dual-task module aims to improve divided attention. Participants will complete a visual discrimination task whereby they will need to make a response to one type of image (single-task; i.e., modes of transportation or fruits;) or two types of images concurrently (dual-task; i.e., one image reflecting a mode of transportation and another image of a fruit). Participants will complete pure blocks of only single-task trials (single-pure trials) or only dual-task trials (dual-pure trials) or will complete mixed blocks that randomly involve one (single-mixed trials) or both tasks (dual-mixed trials). For the dual-task trials, participants will be instructed to respond to both stimuli equally. However, as the training progresses, participants will need to prioritize one hand over the other to increase the level of difficulty (i.e., in the dual-task trials when two images are presented, participants will be asked to make a response using their left or right hand first before making a response with the other hand).