Brain activation associated with active and passive lower limb stepping.
Reports about standardized and repeatable experimental procedures investigating supraspinal activation in patients with gait disorders are scarce in current neuro-imaging literature. Well-designed and executed tasks are important to gain insight into the effects of gait-rehabilitation on sensorimotor centers of the brain. The present study aims to demonstrate the feasibility of a novel imaging paradigm, combining the magnetic resonance (MR)-compatible stepping robot (MARCOS) with sparse sampling functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure task-related BOLD signal changes and to delineate the supraspinal contribution specific to active and passive stepping. Twenty-four healthy participants underwent fMRI during active and passive, periodic, bilateral, multi-joint, lower limb flexion and extension akin to human gait. Active and passive stepping engaged several cortical and subcortical areas of the sensorimotor network, with higher relative activation of those areas during active movement. Our results indicate that the combination of MARCOS and sparse sampling fMRI is feasible for the detection of lower limb motor related supraspinal activation. Activation of the anterior cingulate and medial frontal areas suggests motor response inhibition during passive movement in healthy participants. Our results are of relevance for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying gait in the healthy.
Sensory-Motor Systems Lab, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich Zürich, Switzerland ; Medical Faculty, University of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland ; Clinic of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland.
Lukas
L
Jaeger
Sensory-Motor Systems Lab, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich Zürich, Switzerland ; Medical Faculty, University of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland.
Laura
L
Marchal-Crespo
Sensory-Motor Systems Lab, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich Zürich, Switzerland ; Medical Faculty, University of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland.
Peter
P
Wolf
Sensory-Motor Systems Lab, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich Zürich, Switzerland ; Medical Faculty, University of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland.
Robert
R
Riener
Clinic of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland ; Center of MR-Research, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.
Lars
L
Michels
Clinic of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland.
Spyros
S
Kollias
MARCOS; fMRI; locomotion; lower limb; motor control; robot; stepping; supraspinal