title: Adaptation and aftereffects of split-belt walking in cerebellar lesion patients.
abstract: To walk efficiently and stably on different surfaces under various constrained conditions, humans need to adapt their gait pattern substantially. Although the mechanisms behind locomotor adaptation are still not fully understood, the cerebellum is thought to play an important role. In this study we aimed to address the specific localization of cerebellar involvement in split-belt adaptation by comparing performance in patients with stable focal lesions after cerebellar tumor resection and in healthy controls. We observed that changes in symmetry of those parameters that were most closely related to interlimb coordination (such as step length and relative double stance time) were similar between healthy controls and cerebellar patients during and after split-belt walking. In contrast, relative stance times (proportions of stance in the gait cycle) were more asymmetric for the patient group than for the control group during the early phase of the post-split-belt condition. Patients who walked with more asymmetric relative stance times were more likely to demonstrate lesions in vermal lobules VI and Crus II. These results confirm that deficits in gait adaptation vary with ataxia severity and between patients with different types of cerebellar damage.
authors.affiliation: Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Kinesiology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; wouter.hoogkamer@faber.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Wouter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hoogkamer
authors.affiliation: Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Kinesiology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Orthopedics, First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, People's Republic of China; MOVE Research Institute, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: Sjoerd M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bruijn
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium;
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sunaert
authors.affiliation: Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Kinesiology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium;
authors.forename: Stephan P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Swinnen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; and.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Van Calenbergh
authors.affiliation: Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Kinesiology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Biomechatronics Lab, Mechatronics Department, Escola Politécnica, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duysens
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002526:Cerebellar Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016138:Walking
keywords: ataxia; cerebellum; gait; locomotion; step length symmetry