Author Of 1 Presentation
P0800 - Cognitive-Motor Interference and Cortical Activation during Walking and Turning in Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (ID 1403)
Abstract
Background
Dual-tasking research has highlighted the substantial impact of cognitive-motor interference on walking in persons with MS. To date, few studies have examined the changes in cortical activation while dual-tasking in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). The purpose of the present study was expand the current understanding of these detrimental motor impacts by including cognitive and cortical activation outcomes while integrating both traditional as well as novel and naturalistic dual-task challenge paradigms.
Objectives
To examine the underlying mechanism of cognitive motor interference in persons with MS compared to matched controls for validated measures of cognitive performance as well as more ecologically valid cognitive tasks.
Methods
The study used instrumented measures of mobility and functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to evaluate prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation differences during single and dual task walking with four standardized cognitive laboratory tests (auditory stroop, serial seven subtraction, verbal fluency, procedural discourse). Cortical activation was measured across the PFC using 16 channel fNIRS headband. A total of 14 individuals with MS and 15 matched controls performed single and dual-task walking trials wearing inertial sensors and the 16 channel fNIRS headband.
Results
No difference in dual task cost (DTC) for walking performance was examined between groups, though the MS group tended to perform worse. The MS group had significantly worse cognitive performance under single task conditions for verbal fluency and procedural discourse, and under dual task conditions for verbal fluency, procedural discourse, and auditory stroop, with larger effect sizes seen while walking. Healthy matched controls had significantly greater PFC activation during verbal fluency single task, with no differences seen during other trials.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that individuals with MS will exhibit cognitive and motor performance detriments in absent of increased PFC activation compared to healthy matched controls. Confirming how and why the mobility and cognition of people with MS may deteriorate when dual-tasking has important implications for fall prevention programs.