Frontal Hemodynamic Response During Step Initiation Under Cognitive Conflict in Older and Young Healthy People

Abstract

Gait initiation is a daily challenge even for healthy individuals as it requires the timely coupling between the automatic anticipatory postural adjustment (APA) and the voluntary step according to the context. Modulation of this motor event has been thought to involve higher level brain control, including cognitive inhibitory circuitries. Despite the known participation of the supplementary motor area (SMA) in the modulation of some parameters of APA, the participation of areas controlling inhibition during gait initiation still needs to be investigated. In this study, the hemodynamic responses of the SMA and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) were assessed using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during a gait initiation task under cognitive conflict to select the foot to step (congruent [CON] and incongruent [INC] conditions). The older group (OG) showed worse inhibitory control than the young group (YG) along with more impairments in APA parameters. OG also had a lower amplitude of hemodynamic responses in both areas than YG in the INC. The INC increased the correlation between SMA and DLPFC only in the YG. Aging seems to impair the interaction between the hemodynamic responses of SMA and DLPFC, which influences APA performance in gait initiation under cognitive conflict.

Effect of Cognitive Load on Anticipatory Postural Adjustment Latency and its Relationship with Pain-Related Dysfunction in Non-specific Chronic Low Back Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The RAR task was used for single task of internal postural perturbation according to previous studies [ 27 , 28 ] with slight modifications. To minimize muscle resting activity, subjects were required to remain relaxed and avoid coughing and speaking during the test.…”

The immediate effects of iTBS on the muscle activation pattern under challenging balance conditions in the patients with chronic low back pain: A preliminary study

“…Evidence from previous arterial spin labeling study showed an increased activation in the DLPFC and M1 in patients with CLBP ( Wasan et al, 2011 ). Several recent structural and functional neuroimaging studies indicated that DLPFC is involved in the control of standing and balance by allocation of cognitive resources during the execution of motor control ( Kaller et al, 2011 ; Teo et al, 2018 ; Coelho et al, 2021 ). Higher activation of the DLPFC represents that more cognitive resources were employed during the similar tasks ( Sutoh et al, 2016 ).…”

“…The ability of postural control is positively associated with the cortical activity. Previous studies showed that the primary motor cortex (M1), supplementary motor area (SMA), primary somatosensory cortex (S1), and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) are involved in postural control ( Teo et al, 2018 ; Solis-Escalante et al, 2019 ; Coelho et al, 2021 ; Nandakumar et al, 2021 ). Tsao et al (2008) found that the activation onset of TrA during single rapid arm flexion was related to the location and the map volume of M1 in the CLBP participants.…”

“…The connection of the DLPFC to M1 conveyed critical motor-related information for motor control ( Duque et al, 2012 ; Wang et al, 2020 ). The DLPFC is a neural substrate involved in the planning of action-motor sequences, allocation of cognitive resources, and inhibitory control ( Kaller et al, 2011 ; Teo et al, 2018 ; Coelho et al, 2021 ). Teo et al (2018) reported that a significant positive association was observed between balance performance and increased the bilateral DLPFC activation particularly for more complex balance tasks.…”

Age-Related Differences in Stepping Reactions to a Balance Perturbation: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Surface Electromyography Study

“…Therefore, it plays an important role in balance recovery during the whole process of the perturbation. In the study by Coelho et al [ 48 ], fNIRS was also used to monitor step judgment in older and younger adults under different conditions. Changes in oxygenated hemoglobin in the PFC and supplementary motor area (SMA) were observed within 10 s after the event stimulation.…”