Watch your step! Uncovering the neurocognitive basis for the relationship between human attention and mobility

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It is well known that attention for the location of objects in our environment (i.e., visual-spatial attention) is important for guiding motor behaviour. For example, we use visual-spatial attention to guide our hands to pick up our coffee mug while we maintain eye contact with a person we are engaged in conversation with. My previous research has extended this relationship to the walking, or mobility, domain. Specifically, I have found that visual-spatial attention is critical for safely walking through our environment by examining attention in a specific population manifesting impaired mobility - older adults with a history of falls. My current research program aims to uncover the specific attentional processes that are essential for mobility, and to elucidate the underlying brain functions and structures that support this relationship. This will be achieved through a series of laboratory experiments where, along with graduate students, I will use advance neuroimaging techniques (electroencephalograms, EEG; magnetic resonance imaging, MRI) to further our understanding of the brain processes that are critical for mobility. Specifically, we will examine whether mobility is associated with a “narrowing of attention” (Objective 1), underlying differences in brain structure between hemispheres (Objective 2), performance switching between two tasks, known as “task-switching” (Objective 3), and functional connectivity within and between networks of anatomically distinct brain regions (Objective 3). Importantly, my research program will: 1) contribute to the field of cognitive neuroscience by advancing our current understanding of the relationship between human attention and mobility, thus providing insight into fundamental aspects of human brain structure and function, 2) provide an opportunity to train a new generation of cognitive neuroscientists in key skills that will help them excel in research and industry, and 3) solidify Canada as a leading contributor to cognitive neuroscience research and neuroimaging techniques, placing us at the forefront of new scientific discoveries that will inform future policies and practices.