title: Gait adaptability and brain activity during unaccustomed treadmill walking in healthy elderly females.
abstract: This study evaluated brain activity during unaccustomed treadmill walking using positron emission tomography (PET) and [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose. Twenty-four healthy elderly females (75-82 years) participated in this study. Two PET scans were performed after 25 min of rest and after walking for 25 min at 2.0 km/h on a treadmill. Participants were divided into low and high step-length variability groups according to the median coefficient of variation in step length during treadmill walking. We compared the regional changes in brain glucose metabolism between the two groups. The most prominent relative activations during treadmill walking compared to rest in both groups were found in the primary sensorimotor areas, occipital lobe, and anterior and posterior lobe of the cerebellum. The high step-length variability group showed significant relative deactivations in the frontal lobe and the inferior temporal gyrus during treadmill walking. There was a significant relative activation of the primary sensorimotor area in the low step-length variability group compared to the high step-length variability group (P = 0.022). Compared to the low step-length variability group, the high step-length variability group exhibited a greater relative deactivation in the white matter of the middle and superior temporal gyrus (P = 0.032) and hippocampus (P = 0.034) during treadmill walking compared to resting. These results suggest that activation of the primary sensorimotor area, prefrontal area, and temporal lobe, especially the hippocampus, is associated with gait adaptability during unaccustomed treadmill walking.
authors.affiliation: Section for Health Promotion, Department for Research and Development to Support Independent Life of Elderly, Center for Gerontology and Social Science, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Japan. shimada@ncgg.go.jp
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.forename: Kiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishiwata
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oda
authors.forename: Megumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzukawa
authors.forename: Hyuma
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Makizako
authors.forename: Takehiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Doi
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18