Publications by authors named "Gabrielle St-Amant"

Our previous functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) study on motor sequence learning (Polskaia et al., 2020) did not detect the same decrease in activity in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) associated with movement automaticity, as reported by Wu et al. (2004).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The current study used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to examine cerebral oxygenation changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) associated with dual-task processing before and after motor sequence learning. Participants performed self-initiated sequential finger movements that were 4 and 12 units in length with a visual letter-counting task. After practice, dual-task sequence-4 performance revealed decreased activity in the right dorsolateral PFC, medial PFC, and orbitofrontal cortex.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Postural control decrements with advancing age have been largely identified in the literature. Dual-task paradigms have been utilized to increase older adults' stability in order to direct the attention towards the completion of a secondary task, leaving the automatic motor control processes to modulate posture unconstrained. To the extent that older adults allocate greater attentional resources to maintain an upright posture, the present study aimed at replicating St-Amant et al.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

: Dual-task studies have demonstrated that walking is attention-demanding for younger adults. However, numerous studies have attributed this to task type rather than the amount of required to accomplish the task. This study examined four tasks: two discrete (i.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Executive functions play a fundamental role in walking by integrating information from cognitive-motor pathways. Subtle changes in brain and behavior may help identify older adults who are more susceptible to executive function deficits with advancing age due to prefrontal cortex deterioration. This study aims to examine how older adults mitigate executive demands while walking during cognitively demanding tasks.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: The postural control dual-task literature has demonstrated greater postural stability during dual-task in comparison to single task (i.e., standing balance alone through the examination of multiple kinetic and kinematic measures.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The neural mechanisms underlying movement automaticity have been investigated using PET and fMRI and more recently functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). As fNIRS is an emerging technique, the objective of the present study was to replicate the functional magnetic resonance imaging-related motor sequence findings as reported by Wu et al. (J Neurophysiol 91:1690-1698, https://doi.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF