Change in activity patterns in the prefrontal cortex in different phases during the dual-task walking in older adults.
Chang Yoon Baek, Hyeong Dong Kim, Dong Yup Yoo and 2 others
PMID 37420235WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults walking while subtracting sevens had slower gait and more errors than younger adults.
Their frontal brain activity was higher early than late during dual task, and right orbitofrontal activity was lower than younger adults during dual task.
Key findings
01Older adults had slower walking speed and lower cadence than younger adults during dual-task walking.
02Older adults had lower total response, lower correct response, lower accuracy rate, and higher error rate during dual-task walking than younger adults.
03Older adults had higher right dorsolateral prefrontal activity early during dual task than younger adults, and lower right orbitofrontal activity during dual task than younger adults.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample was small, with 20 older adults and 15 younger adults, so the authors say results cannot be generalized widely. Participants were healthy, right-handed, cognitively normal adults, not patients with neurological, orthopedic, or gait disorders. Older adults had no measured mobility deficits, depression, or fear of falling by the study cutoffs, so it says little about more impaired patients. The study measured only prefrontal cortex subregions and did not compare other brain regions. Some findings were lateralized to one side, so they may not apply to the whole prefrontal cortex. Only one cognitive difficulty level was used, serial subtraction of sevens. Brain activity was split into early and late periods, but walking and cognitive performance were measured over the whole task. No treatment was tested, and no falls, daily function, or clinical outcomes were measured.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not include a funding or conflict-of-interest declaration. The publication types list research support, non-U.S. government.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these prefrontal activation patterns as a clinical test for fall risk, dementia, or treatment response. The study included healthy, cognitively normal adults, not patients, and it did not measure falls, patient outcomes, or therapy response.