{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T03:55:53Z","timestamp":1790654153689,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,25]],"date-time":"2025-06-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1750809600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Hum. Neurosci."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study aimed to explore how varying levels of interactive motor-cognitive dual task difficulty affect brain activation, functional connectivity (FC), and behavioral performance in healthy adults using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>We recruited 28 healthy participants to perform interactive motor-cognitive dual task at three difficulty levels: easy task (ET), medium task (MT), and difficult task (DT). The tasks involved walking while simultaneously engaging in cognitive challenges. A continuous-wave fNIRS system was used to collect fNIRS data during the task, focusing on 10 regions of interest (ROIs): left\/right prefrontal cortex (LPFC\/RPFC), left\/right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC\/DRPFC), left\/right premotor cortex (LPMC\/RPMC), left\/right sensorimotor cortex (LSC\/RSC), and left\/right motor cortex (LMC\/RMC). Simultaneously, the subjects\u2019 gait data during walking were collected using an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensor, and their cognitive performance was recorded by the researchers.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Statistical analysis revealed statistically significant differences in the mean HbO levels among the three groups for the DRPFC, LPMC\/RPMC, RSC, and LMC\/RMC regions. Additionally, significant differences were found in the activation of channels 3, 18, 24, 25, 28, and 29 across the three groups. The group-averaged FC in the DT (0.61 \u00b1 0.21) was significantly higher than that in the ET (0.46 \u00b1 0.21, <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> = 0.023). ROI-to-ROI FC analysis showed significant differences among the three groups in the LSC\u223cRPMC, RPMC\u223cRSC, and RSC\u223cRMC connections. The lateralization index (LI) ranged from 0.10 to 0.35, indicating a predominant right-brain lateralization during the interactive motor-cognitive dual task. Additionally, compared to the MT, both speed and stride length, as well as cognitive performance, were lower during the DT.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>We found that increased task difficulty heightened activation in the premotor and motor cortices, with a tendency toward right hemisphere dominance. Higher task difficulty also strengthened FC, particularly in motor-related regions, indicating greater neural coordination. Behaviorally, participants exhibited slower gait parameters and reduced cognitive performance as task complexity increased, highlighting the impact of dual-task interference.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2025.1464617","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,25]],"date-time":"2025-06-25T05:25:36Z","timestamp":1750829136000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["The impact of interactive motor-cognitive dual tasking on brain activation, functional connectivity, and behavioral performance in healthy adults: an fNIRS study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Xiaohan","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lifeng","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuting","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lin","family":"Ye","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lifeng","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Min","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"536","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2018.00536","article-title":"Neural substrates of cognitive motor interference during walking; Peripheral and central mechanisms.","volume":"12","author":"Al-Yahya","year":"2019","journal-title":"Front. 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