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Jacobsen NA, Ferris DP. Electrocortical theta activity may reflect sensory prediction errors during adaptation to a gradual gait perturbation. PeerJ 2024; 12:e17451. [PMID: 38854799 PMCID: PMC11162180 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Locomotor adaptation to abrupt and gradual perturbations are likely driven by fundamentally different neural processes. The aim of this study was to quantify brain dynamics associated with gait adaptation to a gradually introduced gait perturbation, which typically results in smaller behavioral errors relative to an abrupt perturbation. Loss of balance during standing and walking elicits transient increases in midfrontal theta oscillations that have been shown to scale with perturbation intensity. We hypothesized there would be no significant change in anterior cingulate theta power (4-7 Hz) with respect to pre-adaptation when a gait perturbation is introduced gradually because the gradual perturbation acceleration and stepping kinematic errors are small relative to an abrupt perturbation. Using mobile electroencephalography (EEG), we measured gait-related spectral changes near the anterior cingulate, posterior cingulate, sensorimotor, and posterior parietal cortices as young, neurotypical adults (n = 30) adapted their gait to an incremental split-belt treadmill perturbation. Most cortical clusters we examined (>70%) did not exhibit changes in electrocortical activity between 2-50 Hz. However, we did observe gait-related theta synchronization near the left anterior cingulate cortex during strides with the largest errors, as measured by step length asymmetry. These results suggest gradual adaptation with small gait asymmetry and perturbation magnitude may not require significant cortical resources beyond normal treadmill walking. Nevertheless, the anterior cingulate may remain actively engaged in error monitoring, transmitting sensory prediction error information via theta oscillations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noelle A. Jacobsen
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America
| | - Daniel Perry Ferris
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America
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Young DR, Parikh PJ, Layne CS. The Posterior Parietal Cortex Is Involved in Gait Adaptation: A Bilateral Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:581026. [PMID: 33250730 PMCID: PMC7674796 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.581026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Gait is one of the fundamental behaviors we use to interact with the world. The functionality of the locomotor system is thus related to enriching interactions with our environment. The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) has been found to contribute to motor adaptation during both visuomotor and postural adaptation tasks. Additionally, structural or functional deficits of the PPC lead to impairments in gaits such as shortened steps and increased step width. Based on the aforementioned roles of the PPC, and the importance of gait adaptability, the current investigation sought to identify the role of the PPC in gait adaptation. To achieve this, we performed transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the bilateral PPC before performing a split-belt treadmill gait adaptation paradigm. We used three stimulation conditions in a within-subject design. tDCS was administered in a randomized and double-blinded order. Following each stimulation session, subjects first performed baseline walking with both belts running at the same speed. Then, subjects walked for 15 min on an uncoupled treadmill, with the belts being driven at a 3:1 speed ratio. Last, they returned to normal (i.e., tied-belt) walking for 5 min. Results from 15 young and healthy subjects identified that subjects required more steps to adapt to split-belt walking following the suppression of the left hemisphere PPC, contralateral to the fast belt. Furthermore, while suppression of the left hemisphere PPC did not increase the number of steps required to re-adapt to tied-belt walking, this condition did lead to increased magnitude of after-effects. Together, these findings indicate that the PPC is involved in locomotor adaptation. These results support previous literature regarding the upper body or postural adaptation and extend these findings to the realm of gait. Results highlight the PPC as a potential target for neurorehabilitation designed to improve gait adaptability.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R Young
- Department of Health and Human Performance, Center for Neuromotor and Biomechanics Research, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Pranav J Parikh
- Department of Health and Human Performance, Center for Neuromotor and Biomechanics Research, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Charles S Layne
- Department of Health and Human Performance, Center for Neuromotor and Biomechanics Research, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States.,Center for Neuro-Engineering and Cognitive Science, Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States
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Charalambous CC, Alcantara CC, French MA, Li X, Matt KS, Kim HE, Morton SM, Reisman DS. A single exercise bout and locomotor learning after stroke: physiological, behavioural, and computational outcomes. J Physiol 2018; 596:1999-2016. [PMID: 29569729 PMCID: PMC5978382 DOI: 10.1113/jp275881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
KEY POINTS Previous work demonstrated an effect of a single high-intensity exercise bout coupled with motor practice on the retention of a newly acquired skilled arm movement, in both neurologically intact and impaired adults. In the present study, using behavioural and computational analyses we demonstrated that a single exercise bout, regardless of its intensity and timing, did not increase the retention of a novel locomotor task after stroke. Considering both present and previous work, we postulate that the benefits of exercise effect may depend on the type of motor learning (e.g. skill learning, sensorimotor adaptation) and/or task (e.g. arm accuracy-tracking task, walking). ABSTRACT Acute high-intensity exercise coupled with motor practice improves the retention of motor learning in neurologically intact adults. However, whether exercise could improve the retention of locomotor learning after stroke is still unknown. Here, we investigated the effect of exercise intensity and timing on the retention of a novel locomotor learning task (i.e. split-belt treadmill walking) after stroke. Thirty-seven people post stroke participated in two sessions, 24 h apart, and were allocated to active control (CON), treadmill walking (TMW), or total body exercise on a cycle ergometer (TBE). In session 1, all groups exercised for a short bout (∼5 min) at low (CON) or high (TMW and TBE) intensity and before (CON and TMW) or after (TBE) the locomotor learning task. In both sessions, the locomotor learning task was to walk on a split-belt treadmill in a 2:1 speed ratio (100% and 50% fast-comfortable walking speed) for 15 min. To test the effect of exercise on 24 h retention, we applied behavioural and computational analyses. Behavioural data showed that neither high-intensity group showed greater 24 h retention compared to CON, and computational data showed that 24 h retention was attributable to a slow learning process for sensorimotor adaptation. Our findings demonstrated that acute exercise coupled with a locomotor adaptation task, regardless of its intensity and timing, does not improve retention of the novel locomotor task after stroke. We postulate that exercise effects on motor learning may be context specific (e.g. type of motor learning and/or task) and interact with the presence of genetic variant (BDNF Val66Met).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carolina C Alcantara
- Department of Physical Therapy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
- Department of Physical Therapy, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Margaret A French
- Biomechanics and Movement Science Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Xin Li
- Department of Physical Therapy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
- Biomechanics and Movement Science Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Kathleen S Matt
- College of Health Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Hyosub E Kim
- Department of Psychology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Susanne M Morton
- Department of Physical Therapy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
- Biomechanics and Movement Science Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Darcy S Reisman
- Department of Physical Therapy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
- Biomechanics and Movement Science Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
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