Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, USA.
Geroscience. 2024 Jun;46(3):3169-3184. doi: 10.1007/s11357-023-01054-3. Epub 2024 Jan 15.
The peak prevalence of multiple sclerosis has shifted into older age groups, but co-occurring and possibly synergistic motoric and cognitive declines in this patient population are poorly understood. Dual-task-walking performance, subserved by the prefrontal cortex, and compromised in multiple sclerosis and aging, predicts health outcomes. Whether acute practice can improve dual-task walking performance and prefrontal cortex hemodynamic response efficiency in multiple sclerosis has not been reported. To address this gap in the literature, the current study examined task- and practice-related effects on dual-task-walking and associated brain activation in older adults with multiple sclerosis and controls. Multiple sclerosis (n = 94, mean age = 64.76 ± 4.19 years) and control (n = 104, mean age = 68.18 ± 7.01 years) participants were tested under three experimental conditions (dual-task-walk, single-task-walk, and single-task-alpha) administered over three repeated counterbalanced trials. Functional near-infrared-spectroscopy was used to evaluate task- and practice-related changes in prefrontal cortex oxygenated hemoglobin. Gait and cognitive performances declined, and prefrontal cortex oxygenated hemoglobin was higher in dual compared to both single task conditions in both groups. Gait and cognitive performances improved over trials in both groups. There were greater declines over trials in oxygenated hemoglobin in dual-task-walk compared to single-task-walk in both groups. Among controls, but not multiple sclerosis participants, declines over trials in oxygenated hemoglobin were greater in dual-task-walk compared to single-task-alpha. Dual-task walking and associated prefrontal cortex activation efficiency improved during a single session, but improvement in neural resource utilization, although significant, was attenuated in multiple sclerosis participants. These findings suggest encouraging brain adaptability in aging and neurological disease.
多发性硬化症的发病高峰期已经转移到年龄较大的人群,但在这一患者群体中,运动和认知能力同时下降且可能协同作用的情况尚未得到充分理解。由前额叶皮层控制的双重任务行走表现,在多发性硬化症和衰老中受损,可预测健康结果。急性训练是否可以改善多发性硬化症患者的双重任务行走表现和前额叶皮层血液动力学反应效率尚未有报道。为了解决文献中的这一空白,本研究在多发性硬化症和对照组的老年患者中,检查了任务和练习对双重任务行走以及相关大脑激活的影响。多发性硬化症组(n=94,平均年龄 64.76±4.19 岁)和对照组(n=104,平均年龄 68.18±7.01 岁)参与者在三个重复平衡试验中接受了三个实验条件(双重任务行走、单一任务行走和单一任务阿尔法)的测试。功能近红外光谱用于评估前额叶皮层氧合血红蛋白的任务和练习相关变化。两组的步态和认知表现下降,且双重任务时前额叶皮层氧合血红蛋白高于单一任务。两组的步态和认知表现均在试验中得到改善。与单一任务行走相比,两组的双重任务行走中,随着试验的进行,氧合血红蛋白的下降更大。在对照组中,但在多发性硬化症患者中,氧合血红蛋白的下降在双重任务行走中比单一任务阿尔法中更大。在单次治疗中,双重任务行走和相关前额叶皮层激活效率有所提高,但多发性硬化症患者的神经资源利用改善虽然显著,但有所减弱。这些发现表明,在衰老和神经疾病中,大脑具有令人鼓舞的适应性。
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