Adaptive locomotor network activation during randomized walking speeds using functional near-infrared spectroscopy.

Background: An improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying locomotor networks has the potential to benefit the neurorehabilitation of patients with neurological locomotor deficits. However, the specific locomotor networks that mediate adaptive locomotor performance and changes in gait speed remain unknown.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine patterns of cortical activation associated with the walking speeds of 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 km/h on a treadmill.

Methods: Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was performed on a 30-year-old right-handed healthy female subject, and cerebral hemodynamic changes were observed in cortical locomotor network areas including the primary sensorimotor cortex (SMC), premotor cortex (PMC), supplementary motor area (SMA), prefrontal cortex (PFC), and sensory association cortex (SAC). The software package NIRS-statistical parametric mapping (NIRS-SPM) was utilized to analyze fNIRS data in the MATLAB environment. SPM t-statistic maps were computed at an uncorrected threshold of p< 0.00001.

Results: At faster walking speeds, oxygenated hemoglobin (OxyHb) was concentrated in the PFC and indicated globalized locomotor network activation of the SMC, PMC, SMA, and PMC; additionally, the site with the highest cortical activation ratio shifted from the SMC to the SMA.

Conclusions: Global locomotor network recruitment, in particular PFC activation indicated by OxyHb in our study, may indicate a response to increased cognitive-locomotor demand due to simultaneous postural maintenance and leg movement coordination.