A detailed comprehension of the central and peripheral processes underlying walking is essential to develop effective therapeutic interventions to slow down gait decline with age, and rehabilitation strategies to maximize motor recovery for patients with damages at the central nervous system. The combined use of electromyography (EMG) and electroencephalography (EEG), in the framework of coherence analysis, has recently been established for neuromotor integrity/impairment assessment. In this study, we propose corticomuscular (EEG-EMG) and inter/intramuscular (EMG-EMG) coherences as measures of the cognitive reserve, a widely used concept in neurobiology to represent the ability to optimize and maximize performance through the recruitment of brain networks and/or compensation by alternative cognitive and motor strategies. We recorded EEG signals from the main brain source locations and superficial EMG signals from the main leg muscles involved in gait in 16 healthy young adults (age < 30 years) and 13 healthy elderly (age > 65 years) during three different overground walking conditions (i.e., spontaneous walking, dual-task walking and targeted walking). In all conditions, we calculated corticomuscular and inter/intramuscular coherences. We observed higher corticomuscular and inter/intramuscular coherences during targeted walking compared to spontaneous walking in both groups, even if the increase was greater in young people. Considering dual-task walking compared to spontaneous walking, only corticomuscular coherence in the elderly increased. These results suggest age-related differences in cognitive reserve that reflect different abilities to perform complex cognitive or motor tasks during gait. This study demonstrates the feasibility, repeatability, and effectiveness of the proposed method to investigate brain-to-muscle connectivity during different gait conditions, to study the related changes with age, and to quantify the cognitive reserve.
Una comprensione dettagliata dei meccanismi che intervengono, sia a livello centrale che periferico, nella regolazione del cammino è essenziale per lo sviluppo di trattamenti terapeutici e riabilitativi efficaci, mirati a rallentare il declino della funzione motoria con l’età, e massimizzarne il recupero in pazienti con danni al sistema nervoso centrale. L'uso combinato di elettromiografia (EMG) ed elettroencefalografia (EEG) si è recentemente affermato nella valutazione dell’integrità/compromissione della funzione neuromotoria, tramite analisi di coerenza. In questo studio, proponiamo la coerenza corticomuscolare (EEG-EMG) e inter/intramuscolare (EMG-EMG) come misura della riserva cognitiva, un concetto largamente utilizzato in neurobiologia per rappresentare la capacità di ottimizzare e massimizzare le prestazioni attraverso il reclutamento di reti neurali e/o l’utilizzo di strategie cognitive e motorie alternative. Abbiamo misurato i segnali EEG nei principali siti di registrazione corticali e i segnali EMG di superficie dei principali muscoli delle gambe coinvolti nel cammino in 16 giovani sani (età < 30 anni) e 13 anziani sani (età > 65 anni) durante tre diverse condizioni di cammino (cammino spontaneo, cammino con dual-task e cammino con target). In tutte le condizioni, abbiamo calcolato la coerenza corticomuscolare e inter/intramuscolare. Abbiamo osservato una maggiore coerenza corticomuscolare e inter/intramuscolare durante il cammino con target rispetto al cammino spontaneo in entrambi i gruppi, anche se l'aumento è stato più marcato nei giovani. Considerando il cammino in dual-task rispetto al cammino spontaneo, solo la coerenza corticomuscolare negli anziani è aumentata. Questi risultati fanno ipotizzare una modificazione della riserva cognitiva con l’età, che si riflette in una diversa capacità di eseguire compiti cognitivi o motori complessi durante il cammino. Lo studio dimostra quindi la fattibilità, la ripetibilità e l'efficacia del metodo proposto per indagare la connettività cervello-muscolo durante il cammino, per studiare i relativi cambiamenti con l'età e per quantificare la riserva cognitiva.
Brain-muscle connectivity during gait : corticomuscular coherence as quantification of the cognitive reserve.
Caffi, Laura;Boccia, Stefano
2020/2021
Abstract
A detailed comprehension of the central and peripheral processes underlying walking is essential to develop effective therapeutic interventions to slow down gait decline with age, and rehabilitation strategies to maximize motor recovery for patients with damages at the central nervous system. The combined use of electromyography (EMG) and electroencephalography (EEG), in the framework of coherence analysis, has recently been established for neuromotor integrity/impairment assessment. In this study, we propose corticomuscular (EEG-EMG) and inter/intramuscular (EMG-EMG) coherences as measures of the cognitive reserve, a widely used concept in neurobiology to represent the ability to optimize and maximize performance through the recruitment of brain networks and/or compensation by alternative cognitive and motor strategies. We recorded EEG signals from the main brain source locations and superficial EMG signals from the main leg muscles involved in gait in 16 healthy young adults (age < 30 years) and 13 healthy elderly (age > 65 years) during three different overground walking conditions (i.e., spontaneous walking, dual-task walking and targeted walking). In all conditions, we calculated corticomuscular and inter/intramuscular coherences. We observed higher corticomuscular and inter/intramuscular coherences during targeted walking compared to spontaneous walking in both groups, even if the increase was greater in young people. Considering dual-task walking compared to spontaneous walking, only corticomuscular coherence in the elderly increased. These results suggest age-related differences in cognitive reserve that reflect different abilities to perform complex cognitive or motor tasks during gait. This study demonstrates the feasibility, repeatability, and effectiveness of the proposed method to investigate brain-to-muscle connectivity during different gait conditions, to study the related changes with age, and to quantify the cognitive reserve.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/183577