Cortical activity and spatiotemporal parameters during gait termination and walking: A preliminary study

Seong Ho Yun; Tae Su Jang; Jung Won Kwon

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114701

Cortical activity and spatiotemporal parameters during gait termination and walking: A preliminary study

Behav Brain Res. 2024 Jan 5:456:114701. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114701. Epub 2023 Oct 7.

Authors

Seong Ho Yun¹, Tae Su Jang², Jung Won Kwon³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health Sciences, Graduate School, Dankook University, Cheonan, South Korea.
² Department of Health Administration, College of Health and Welfare Sciences, Dankook University, Cheonan, South Korea.
³ Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health and Welfare Sciences, Dankook University, Cheonan, South Korea. Electronic address: kjwonpt@gmail.com.

PMID: 37813283
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114701

Abstract

Gait termination requires an interaction between the biomechanical and neuromuscular systems to arrest forward momentum. Currently, the biomechanical characteristics of gait termination have been demonstrated; however, the neural mechanism of gait termination remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate cortical activity during gait termination using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Thirteen healthy younger adults (mean age:24.0 ± 1.7) participated in this study. All participants performed three experimental sessions: planned gait termination (PGT), unplanned gait termination (UGT), and walking. Each experimental session comprised a block paradigm design (three cycles; 20 s resting, 45 s task). Cortical activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), supplementary motor area (SMA), and primary motor cortex (M1) and spatiotemporal parameters were measured. We compared the cortical activities and spatiotemporal parameters among PGT, UGT, and walking sessions. In addition, we performed Pearson correlations between hemodynamic responses and spatiotemporal parameters. The PGT was activated in the right DLPFC, whereas the UGT and walking were activated in the left SMA (p < 0.05). Comparing cortical activation between sessions, both the PGT and UGT showed significantly higher activation in the right DLPFC than during walking (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in cortical activity between PGT and UGT (p > 0.05). In addition, the gait termination time revealed moderate positive correlation with hemodynamic responses in the right DLPFC (p < 0.05). Our results indicate that the right DLPFC is associated with gait termination, regardless of gait termination type. Our findings provide the potential implication that the hemodynamic response in the right DLPFC would be a biomarker to evaluate the ability of gait termination.

Keywords: Gait; Gait termination time; Planned gait termination; Right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; Unplanned gait termination.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
Gait / physiology
Humans
Motor Cortex* / physiology
Prefrontal Cortex / physiology
Walking* / physiology
Young Adult