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Table 3 Progression of complexity of secondary tasks by levels of difficulty

From: A randomized controlled trial protocol to test the efficacy of a dual-task multicomponent exercise program in the attenuation of frailty in long-term nursing home residents: Aging-ONDUAL-TASK study

Main cognitive function

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Attention

Divided (cognitive) CATEGORIES:Buildings/ Dairy products/ colors

The participant will repeat a specific word from a certain category (e.g house) every time the instructor says it

The participant will raise a hand every time the instructor says a specific word from a certain category or when a green card is presented

The participant will raise a hand every time the instructor says two specific words from certain categories or when a green card is presented

The participant will raise a hand every time the instructor says two specific words from certain categories or when a green card is presented or when the instructor claps

The participant will raise a hand and repeat the word every time the instructor says two specific words from certain categories or when a green card is presented or when the instructor claps

Divided (physical)

Participants will carry out the physical task whilst maintaining a cup with a ball upright to avoid the ball from falling

Sustained

Naming months of the year forward

Naming months of the year forward starting from a random month

Naming even or odd months of the year forward

Naming months of the year backwards

Naming months of the year backwards starting from a random month

Shifting

Participants will be asked to shift focus from a cognitive task to another on some of the dual tasks

Semantic fluency

Naming colors/days of the week/names

Naming members of the family/clothes

Naming professions

Naming cooking instruments or general tools

Naming fish, dog or tree types

Inhibition

If the instructor says YES they respond NO and viceversa

Every time the instructor says HEADS they have to answer TAILS and viceversa and Previous entry

If a green card is presented they have to say RED and when a red card is presented they have to say GREEN

Level 2 and level 3 instructions altogether

If the word RED is presented in a green color they have to say GREEN and vice versa and when the word YES in red color or NO in green color, they have to name the color.

Problem solving (calculus)

Counting by twos starting from a numberā€‰ā‰„ā€‰30

Counting by threes from a numberā€‰ā‰„ā€‰50

Substracting by twos from a numberā€‰ā‰„ā€‰30

Substracting by threes from a numberā€‰ā‰„ā€‰50

Substracting by fours from a numberā€‰ā‰„ā€‰100

Movement coordination

Inherent to the muticomponent exercise program

Movement learning and sequencing