Gait in younger and older adults during rhythmic auditory stimulation is influenced by groove, familiarity, beat perception, and synchronization demands

Music-based Rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) is a cueing intervention used to regulate gait impairments in conditions such as Parkinson's disease or stroke. Desire to move with music (‘groove’) and familiarity have been shown to impact younger adult gait while walking with music, and these effects appear to be influenced by individual rhythmic ability. Importantly, these factors have not been examined in older adults. The aim of this study was to determine how gait outcomes during RAS are influenced by musical properties (familiarity, ‘groove’) in both free and synchronized walking for younger and older adults with good and poor beat perception ability. To do this, participants were randomized to either free or synchronized walking groups. Each participant's gait was assessed on a pressure sensitive walkway during high versus low groove and high versus low familiarity music, as well as metronome, cueing trials. Individual beat perception ability was evaluated using the Beat Alignment Test. Results showed that the effects of synchronization and groove were mostly consistent across age groups. High groove music elicited faster gait in both age groups, with longer strides only among young adults, than low groove music; synchronizing maximized these effects. Older adults with poor beat perception were more negatively affected by unfamiliar stimuli while walking than younger adults. This suggests that older adults, like younger adults, may benefit from synchronized RAS to high groove cues but may be more vulnerable to cognitive demands associated with walking to unfamiliar stimuli. This should be accounted for in clinical implementations of RAS.