Cognitive-Motor Interference in Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review of Evidence, Correlates, and Consequences

Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) regularly exhibit deficits in motor and cognitive function. Recent evidence suggests that these impairments are compounded when motor and cognitive task are performed simultaneously such as walking while talking. The changes incurred during simultaneous performance of motor and cognitive tasks are a result of cognitive-motor interference (CMI) and operationalized as dual task costs (DTC). Recently in MS, research has been conducted to understand and analyze the impact of CMI. The purpose of this paper was to review the current literature related to the evidence, correlates, and consequences of CMI in MS. Relevant literature was collected from the results of a PubMed search for terms including “Cognitive-motor interference” or “Cognitive-motor interaction” or “Dual task” and “multiple sclerosis.” Overall, 20 papers were included for review which focused on CMI during balance and walking tasks. The finding that there is a lack of evidence pertaining to changes in the cognitive domain as well as to the specific consequences of CMI in MS was noted. Future work should aim to fill these gaps and ultimately investigate the usefulness of targeted interventions in reducing the deleterious effects of CMI in individuals with MS.