Stress and gender effects on prefrontal cortex oxygenation levels assessed during single and dual‐task walking conditions

Abstract

The ability to walk is critical for functional independence and wellbeing. The pre-frontal cortex (PFC) plays a key role in cognitive control of locomotion, notably under attention-demanding conditions. Factors that influence brain responses to cognitive demands of locomotion, however, are poorly understood. Herein we evaluated the individual and combined effects of gender and perceived stress on stride velocity and PFC Oxygenated Hemoglobin (HbO2) assessed during single and dual-task walking conditions. The experimental paradigm included three tasks: a) Normal-Walk (NW); b) Cognitive Interference (Alpha); c) Walk-While-Talk (WWT). An instrumented walkway was used to assess stride velocity in NW and WWT conditions. Functional Near-Infrared-Spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to quantify PFC HbO2 levels during NW, Alpha and WWT. Perceived task-related stress was evaluated with a single 11-point scale item. Participants were community residing older adults (age=76.8±6.7ys; %female=56). Results revealed that higher perceived stress was associated with greater decline in stride velocity from single to dual-task conditions among men. Three-way interactions revealed that gender moderated the effect of perceived stress on changes in HbO2 levels comparing WWT to NW and Alpha. Attenuation in the increase in HbO2 levels, in high compared to low perceived stress levels, from the two single task conditions to WWT was observed only in men. Conclusion Older men maybe more vulnerable to the effect of perceived stress on the change in PFC oxygenation levels across walking conditions that vary in terms of cognitive demands. These findings confer important implications for assessment and treatment of individuals at risk of mobility impairments.

Can an aversive, extinction-resistant memory trigger impairments in walking adaptability? An experimental study using adult rats

“…For example, it is widely known that the peak of neuroplasticity and basic motor skill acquisition occur in earlier stages of sensorimotor development. However, conditions common in adulthood such as ageing [3], stress [6][7][8][9] and stroke [2] can impair the ability to adapt walking. Thus, to compare the effects of suffering aversive experiences on walking adaptability in different periods, i.e.…”

“…Indeed, several reports support the hypothesis that aversive experiences may affect the locomotor system in both the short and long-term, although the mechanisms are not fully understood [6][7][8][9][10].…”

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy to Study Cerebral Hemodynamics in Older Adults During Cognitive and Motor Tasks: A Review

“…Of the 46 included articles, 13 included a mix of younger and older participants (Heilbronner and Münte, 2013;Ohsugi et al, 2013;Beurskens et al, 2014;Müller et al, 2014;Oboshi et al, 2014;Hernandez et al, 2016;Bierre et al, 2017;Mirelman et al, 2017;Rosso et al, 2017;Hawkins et al, 2018) whereas 29 included only older adults (Doi et al, 2013;Heinzel et al, 2013Heinzel et al, , 2015Niu et al, 2013;Clark et al, 2014;Vermeij et al, 2014;Dupuy et al, 2015;Holtzer et al, 2015Holtzer et al, , 2016Holtzer et al, , 2017aHoltzer et al, ,b, 2018aLaguë-Beauvais et al, 2015;Al-Yahya et al, 2016;Maidan et al, 2016Maidan et al, , 2017Mahoney et al, 2016;Nieuwhof et al, 2016;Osofundiya et al, 2016;Takeuchi et al, 2016;Uemura et al, 2016;Yeung et al, 2016a,b;Chen et al, 2017;Huppert et al, 2017;Verghese et al, 2017;Yap et al, 2017;Halliday et al, 2018;Katzorke et al, 2018;Lucas et al, 2018;Mori et al, 2018;Thumm et al, 2018). Moreover, 26 studies included only cognitively normal participants…”

“…Some studies, beyond assessing frontal hemodynamics, investigated the influence of other clinical characteristics in the reported frontal activation findings (Albinet et al, 2014;Dupuy et al, 2015;Hyodo et al, 2016;Osofundiya et al, 2016;Holtzer et al, 2016Holtzer et al, , 2017aHoltzer et al, ,b, 2018aVerghese et al, 2017;Halliday et al, 2018;Lucas et al, 2018) (see Table 3).…”

“…-DT: walk and step on targets on walkway (precision walk). (Holtzer et al, 2017a) N = 318 Healthy older adults (76.6 ± 6.7). Prefrontal.…”