David J Clark1, Evangelos A Christou2, Sarah A Ring3, John B Williamson4, Leilani Doty5. 1. Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, Gainesville, Florida. Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, davidclark@ufl.edu. 2. Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, and. 3. Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, Gainesville, Florida. 4. Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, Gainesville, Florida. Department of Neurology, University of Florida, Gainesville. 5. Department of Neurology, University of Florida, Gainesville.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The coordination of steady state walking is relatively automatic in healthy humans, such that active attention to the details of task execution and performance (controlled processing) is low. Somatosensation is a crucial input to the spinal and brainstem circuits that facilitate this automaticity. Impaired somatosensation in older adults may reduce automaticity and increase controlled processing, thereby contributing to deficits in walking function. The primary objective of this study was to determine if enhancing somatosensory feedback can reduce controlled processing during walking, as assessed by prefrontal cortical activation. METHODS: Fourteen older adults (age 77.1±5.56 years) with mild mobility deficits and mild somatosensory deficits participated in this study. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to quantify metabolic activity (tissue oxygenation index, TOI) in the prefrontal cortex. Prefrontal activity and gait spatiotemporal data were measured during treadmill walking and overground walking while participants wore normal shoes and under two conditions of enhanced somatosensation: wearing textured insoles and no shoes. RESULTS: Relative to walking with normal shoes, textured insoles yielded a bilateral reduction of prefrontal cortical activity for treadmill walking (ΔTOI = -0.85 and -1.19 for left and right hemispheres, respectively) and for overground walking (ΔTOI = -0.51 and -0.66 for left and right hemispheres, respectively). Relative to walking with normal shoes, no shoes yielded lower prefrontal cortical activity for treadmill walking (ΔTOI = -0.69 and -1.13 for left and right hemispheres, respectively), but not overground walking. CONCLUSIONS: Enhanced somatosensation reduces prefrontal activity during walking in older adults. This suggests a less intensive utilization of controlled processing during walking. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Gerontological Society of America 2014.
BACKGROUND: The coordination of steady state walking is relatively automatic in healthy humans, such that active attention to the details of task execution and performance (controlled processing) is low. Somatosensation is a crucial input to the spinal and brainstem circuits that facilitate this automaticity. Impaired somatosensation in older adults may reduce automaticity and increase controlled processing, thereby contributing to deficits in walking function. The primary objective of this study was to determine if enhancing somatosensory feedback can reduce controlled processing during walking, as assessed by prefrontal cortical activation. METHODS: Fourteen older adults (age 77.1±5.56 years) with mild mobility deficits and mild somatosensory deficits participated in this study. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to quantify metabolic activity (tissue oxygenation index, TOI) in the prefrontal cortex. Prefrontal activity and gait spatiotemporal data were measured during treadmill walking and overground walking while participants wore normal shoes and under two conditions of enhanced somatosensation: wearing textured insoles and no shoes. RESULTS: Relative to walking with normal shoes, textured insoles yielded a bilateral reduction of prefrontal cortical activity for treadmill walking (ΔTOI = -0.85 and -1.19 for left and right hemispheres, respectively) and for overground walking (ΔTOI = -0.51 and -0.66 for left and right hemispheres, respectively). Relative to walking with normal shoes, no shoes yielded lower prefrontal cortical activity for treadmill walking (ΔTOI = -0.69 and -1.13 for left and right hemispheres, respectively), but not overground walking. CONCLUSIONS: Enhanced somatosensation reduces prefrontal activity during walking in older adults. This suggests a less intensive utilization of controlled processing during walking. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Gerontological Society of America 2014.
Entities:
Keywords:
Aging; Somatosensory disorders; Spectroscopy; Walking; near infrared
Authors: Michele L Callisaya; Leigh Blizzard; Jennifer L McGinley; Michael D Schmidt; Velandai K Srikanth Journal: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci Date: 2009-11-25 Impact factor: 6.053
Authors: Yenisel Cruz-Almeida; Mieniecia L Black; Evangelos A Christou; David J Clark Journal: Front Aging Neurosci Date: 2014-04-11 Impact factor: 5.750
Authors: Martin M Tisdall; Christopher Taylor; Ilias Tachtsidis; Terence S Leung; Clare E Elwell; Martin Smith Journal: Anesth Analg Date: 2009-09 Impact factor: 5.108
Authors: Stephen D Anton; Adam J Woods; Tetso Ashizawa; Diana Barb; Thomas W Buford; Christy S Carter; David J Clark; Ronald A Cohen; Duane B Corbett; Yenisel Cruz-Almeida; Vonetta Dotson; Natalie Ebner; Philip A Efron; Roger B Fillingim; Thomas C Foster; David M Gundermann; Anna-Maria Joseph; Christy Karabetian; Christiaan Leeuwenburgh; Todd M Manini; Michael Marsiske; Robert T Mankowski; Heather L Mutchie; Michael G Perri; Sanjay Ranka; Parisa Rashidi; Bhanuprasad Sandesara; Philip J Scarpace; Kimberly T Sibille; Laurence M Solberg; Shinichi Someya; Connie Uphold; Stephanie Wohlgemuth; Samuel Shangwu Wu; Marco Pahor Journal: Ageing Res Rev Date: 2015-10-14 Impact factor: 10.895
Authors: Brenda R Malcolm; John J Foxe; John S Butler; Sophie Molholm; Pierfilippo De Sanctis Journal: J Neurophysiol Date: 2018-08-01 Impact factor: 2.714
Authors: Nemin Chen; Caterina Rosano; Helmet T Karim; Stephanie A Studenski; Andrea L Rosso Journal: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci Date: 2020-07-13 Impact factor: 6.053
Authors: Sudeshna A Chatterjee; Rachael D Seidler; Jared W Skinner; Paige E Lysne; Chanoan Sumonthee; Samuel S Wu; Ronald A Cohen; Dorian K Rose; Adam J Woods; David J Clark Journal: Innov Aging Date: 2020-08-10
Authors: Ferenc Deak; Willard M Freeman; Zoltan Ungvari; Anna Csiszar; William E Sonntag Journal: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci Date: 2015-11-20 Impact factor: 6.053
Authors: Kelly A Hawkins; Emily J Fox; Janis J Daly; Dorian K Rose; Evangelos A Christou; Theresa E McGuirk; Dana M Otzel; Katie A Butera; Sudeshna A Chatterjee; David J Clark Journal: Hum Mov Sci Date: 2018-03-29 Impact factor: 2.161
Authors: Hannah Park; Courtney Aul; Joseph DeGutis; On-Yee Lo; Victoria N Poole; Regina McGlinchey; Jonathan F Bean; Elizabeth Leritz; Michael Esterman Journal: Front Aging Neurosci Date: 2021-07-05 Impact factor: 5.750