201. Prefrontal cortex as a compensatory network in ataxic gait: a correlation study between cortical activity and gait parameters
- Author
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Caliandro, Pietro, Serrao, Mariano, Padua, Luca, Silvestri, Gabriella, Iacovelli, Chiara, Simbolotti, Chiara, Mari, Silvia, Reale, Giuseppe, Casali, Carlo, Rossini, Paolo Maria, Caliandro, Pietro (ORCID:0000-0002-1190-4879), Padua, Luca (ORCID:0000-0003-2570-9326), Silvestri, Gabriella (ORCID:0000-0002-1950-1468), Rossini, Paolo Maria (ORCID:0000-0003-2665-534X), Caliandro, Pietro, Serrao, Mariano, Padua, Luca, Silvestri, Gabriella, Iacovelli, Chiara, Simbolotti, Chiara, Mari, Silvia, Reale, Giuseppe, Casali, Carlo, Rossini, Paolo Maria, Caliandro, Pietro (ORCID:0000-0002-1190-4879), Padua, Luca (ORCID:0000-0003-2570-9326), Silvestri, Gabriella (ORCID:0000-0002-1950-1468), and Rossini, Paolo Maria (ORCID:0000-0003-2665-534X)
- Abstract
PURPOSE: To investigate whether prefrontal cortex (PFC) functioning during ataxic gait is linked to compensatory mechanisms or to the typical intra-subject variability of the ataxic gait. METHODS: Nineteen patients with chronic ataxia and fifteen healthy subjects were evaluated. The subjects were requested to walk along a straight distance of 10 meters while PFC oxygenation and gait parameters were assessed. PFC activity was evaluated by NIRO-200 while gait analysis was performed by the SMART-D500. To investigate the intra-subject variability of gait, we calculated the coefficient of multiple correlation (CMC) of the hip, knee and ankle kinematic waveforms furthermore, we evaluated the step width. RESULTS: We observed a positive correlation between PFC bilateral oxygenation changes and the step width (r = 0.54; p = 0.02 for the right PFC, and r = 0.50; p = 0.03 for the left PFC). No correlation was found between PFC activity and CMC of the hip, knee and ankle waveforms. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that PFC activity is linked to gait compensatory mechanisms more than to the variability of the joint kinematic parameters caused by a defective cerebellar control.
- Published
- 2015