Exploring the relationship between prefrontal cortex activation, standing balance, and fatigue in people post-stroke: A fNIRS study.

Only nine participants were studied, and no inferential statistics were calculated. Recruitment was severely restricted by COVID-19 outbreaks on the inpatient unit. Fatigue was measured only once, before the balance tasks, so its fluctuating nature during activity was not captured. fNIRS measured only the prefrontal cortex, excluding other brain regions involved in balance. Average laterality values were skewed by extreme scores from two participants, limiting interpretation of hemispheric patterns. Participants were medically stable and able to stand for 20 seconds, so findings do not apply to those with more severe balance impairment.

Funded by the St. Joseph's Health Care Foundation, the Gray Centre for Mobility and Activity Seed Grant, and the Western Faculty Research Development Fund. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Do not interpret the greater prefrontal activation during semi-tandem stance as proof that this task is more cognitively demanding or that it should be prioritized in therapy. With nine participants, no statistics, and inconsistent fatigue-activation relationships, these are descriptive observations only.