Abstract
Although the existence of a central pattern generator system modulated by sensory information has become broadly accepted in the control of gait, many findings indicate that the cortex also plays a role of primary importance in human walking (Miyai et al., 2001; Gwin et al., 2011; Petersen et al., 2012). Examining the neural control of gait in humans requires recording cortical activity during gait. Direct evidence for cortical involvement in human locomotion comes from neuroimaging studies using position emission tomography (la Fougere et al., 2010), electroencephalography (EEG, Gwin et al., 2011) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS, Miyai et al., 2001) methods. Among possible neuroimaging methods, fNIRS is ideally suited to perform brain imaging during walking as it represents several advantages over other methods (Perrey, 2008).
Highlights
The existence of a central pattern generator system modulated by sensory information has become broadly accepted in the control of gait, many findings indicate that the cortex plays a role of primary importance in human walking (Miyai et al, 2001; Gwin et al, 2011; Petersen et al, 2012)
We concentrate on the possibilities of examining the neural control of gait in humans with fNIRS method
Based on a quick review of recent studies using fNIRS modality for studying gait in humans, this paper aims to address the sensitivity and pitfalls of fNIRS to activation over multiple cortical areas involved in gait control in humans
Summary
The existence of a central pattern generator system modulated by sensory information has become broadly accepted in the control of gait, many findings indicate that the cortex plays a role of primary importance in human walking (Miyai et al, 2001; Gwin et al, 2011; Petersen et al, 2012). Like fMRI, fNIRS is a non-invasive imaging technique for measuring local variations of hemoglobin concentration changes related to neuronal activity by the phenomenon of neurovascular coupling. Some pitfalls are to consider using fNIRS during gait (i.e., low spatial resolution, inter-subject variability of the hemodynamic response, positioning of the optodes and systemic interference), the advantages of fNIRS, such as non-invasiveness, highly portable make it a promising method for studying the cortical activation patterns associated with whole-body tasks by wearable multichannel fNIRS system (Piper et al, 2014).
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