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INTRODUCTION

Walking in complex environments increases the cognitive demand of locomotor control; however, our understanding of the neural mechanisms contributing to walking on uneven terrain is limited. We used a novel method for altering terrain unevenness on a treadmill to investigate the association between terrain unevenness and cortical activity in the prefrontal cortex, a region known to be involved in various cognitive functions.

METHODS

Prefrontal cortical activity was measured with functional near infrared spectroscopy while participants walked on a novel custom-made terrain treadmill surface across four different terrains: flat, low, medium, and high levels of unevenness. The assessments were conducted in younger adults, older adults with better mobility function and older adults with worse mobility function. Mobility function was assessed using the Short Physical Performance Battery. The primary hypothesis was that increasing the unevenness of the terrain would result in greater prefrontal cortical activation in all groups. Secondary hypotheses were that heightened prefrontal cortical activation would be observed in the older groups relative to the younger group, and that prefrontal cortical activation would plateau at higher levels of terrain unevenness for the older adults with worse mobility function, as predicted by the Compensation Related Utilization of Neural Circuits Hypothesis.

RESULTS

The results revealed a significant main effect of terrain, indicating a significant increase in prefrontal cortical activation with increasing terrain unevenness during walking in all groups. A significant main effect of group revealed that prefrontal cortical activation was higher in older adults with better mobility function compared to younger adults and older adults with worse mobility function in all pooled terrains, but there was no significant difference in prefrontal cortical activation between older adults with worse mobility function and younger adults. Contrary to our hypothesis, the older group with better mobility function displayed a sustained increase in activation but the other groups did not, suggestive of neural compensation. Additional findings were that task-related increases in prefrontal cortical activation during walking were lateralized to the right hemisphere in older adults with better mobility function but were bilateral in older adults with worse mobility function and younger adults.

DISCUSSION

These findings support that compared to walking on a flat surface, walking on uneven terrain surfaces increases demand on cognitive control resources as measured by prefrontal cortical activation.

INTRODUCTION

METHODS

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

These findings support that compared to walking on a flat surface, walking on uneven terrain surfaces increases demand on cognitive control resources as measured by prefrontal cortical activation.

引言

在复杂环境中行走会增加运动控制的认知需求；然而，我们对在不平坦地形上行走的神经机制的理解有限。我们使用了一种新颖的方法来改变跑步机上的地形不平度，以研究地形不平度与前额叶皮质（已知参与各种认知功能的区域）的皮质活动之间的关联。

方法

在参与者在一种新型定制的地形跑步机表面上行走时，通过功能性近红外光谱测量前额叶皮质活动，该表面有四种不同地形：平坦、低不平度、中等不平度和高不平度。评估在年轻人、具有较好运动功能的老年人和具有较差运动功能的老年人中进行。使用简短体能测试电池评估运动功能。主要假设是，增加地形不平度会导致所有组的前额叶皮质激活增加。次要假设是，相对于年轻组，老年组会观察到更高的前额叶皮质激活，并且根据神经回路补偿相关利用假说预测，对于具有较差运动功能的老年人，前额叶皮质激活在更高水平的地形不平度时会达到平稳状态。

结果

结果显示地形有显著的主效应，表明在所有组中行走时，随着地形不平度增加，前额叶皮质激活显著增加。组的显著主效应表明，在所有汇总地形中，具有较好运动功能的老年人的前额叶皮质激活高于年轻人和具有较差运动功能的老年人，但具有较差运动功能的老年人与年轻人之间的前额叶皮质激活没有显著差异。与我们的假设相反，具有较好运动功能的老年组显示激活持续增加，而其他组则没有，这表明存在神经补偿。其他发现是，在行走过程中，具有较好运动功能的老年人前额叶皮质激活与任务相关的增加在右半球侧化，但在具有较差运动功能的老年人和年轻人中是双侧的。