Neural Correlates of Stepping in Healthy Elderly: Parietal and Prefrontal Cortex Activation Reflects Cognitive-Motor Interference Effects.

ABSTRACT: Gait analysis involving cognitive-motor dual task (DT) is a diagnostic tool in geriatrics. Cognitive-motor interference effects during DT, such as decreased walking speed and increased step-to-step variability, have a high predictive value for fall risk and cognitive decline. Previously we showed the feasibility of DT during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using an MRI-compatible stepping device. Here, we improved the DT-fMRI protocol with respect to task difficulty and signal robustness, making it more suitable for individualized analysis to better understand the neuronal substrates of cognitive-motor interference effects. Thirty healthy elderly subjects performed cognitive and motor single tasks (ST; stepping or finger tapping), as well as combined cognitive-motor DT during

SUBMITTER: Reinhardt J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7550687 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature