Evidence for the acquisition of dual-task coordination skills in older adults

• Younger adults acquire task coordination skills with dual-task practice.
• However, the literature provides no evidence for such skill acquisition in older adults.
• We demonstrate that also older adults acquire task coordination skills.
• We conclude that practice allows optimizing executive control in dual tasks.
• This optimization occurs across age from younger to older adults.

Practicing two simultaneously presented tasks in dual-task situations results in improved dual-task performance, in both younger and older adults. Recent findings with younger adults demonstrated that this improvement is attributable in part to improved task coordination skills acquired through practice. However, it is unclear whether practice also improves older adults' skills at dual-task coordination. To clarify this, the present study examined the acquisition of task coordination skills, reflecting one specific mechanism of practice-dependent improvement in dual-task performance for this particular age group. This examination was based on two assumptions, namely, that (1) these skills are acquired during practice of the tasks presented simultaneously (dual-task situations), but not during the separate practice of the two tasks (single-task situations), and (2), rather than being dependent on the specific properties of practiced tasks, these skills are transferable to new dual-task situations. In the context of dual-task situations with well-structured reaction-time tasks, the results indeed revealed improved dual-task performance following dual-task practice, as compared to single-task practice, in both the practiced dual-task and new dual-task (transfer) situations. These findings are consistent with the notion that, similar to younger adults, acquired task coordination skills represent one practice-related mechanism that contributes to improved dual-task performance in the age group of older adults.