title: Planning of spatially-oriented locomotion following focal brain damage in humans: A pilot study.
abstract: Motor impairments in human gait following stroke or focal brain damage are well documented. Here, we investigated whether stroke and/or focal brain damage also affect the navigational component of spatially oriented locomotion. Ten healthy adult participants and ten adult brain-damaged patients had to walk towards distant targets from different starting positions (with vision or blindfolded). No instructions as to which the path to follow were provided to them. We observed very similar geometrical forms of paths across the two groups of participants and across visual conditions. This spatial stereotypy of whole-body displacements was observed following brain damage, even in the most severely impaired (hemiparetic) patients. This contrasted with much more variability at the temporal level. In particular, healthy participants and non-hemiparetic patients varied their walking speed according to curvature changes along the path. On the contrary, the walking speed profiles were not stereotypical and were not systematically constrained by path geometry in hemiparetic patients where it was associated with different stepping behaviors. These observations confirm the dissociation between cognitive and motor aspects of gait recovery post-stroke. The impact of these findings on the understanding of the functional and anatomical organization of spatially-oriented locomotion and for rehabilitation purposes is discussed and contextualized in the light of recent advances in electrophysiological studies.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Sport and Movement Sciences, Dept. of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Electronic address: halim_hicheur@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Halim
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hicheur
authors.affiliation: Unit of Sport and Movement Sciences, Dept. of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boujon
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
authors.forename: Cuebong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
authors.forename: Quang-Cuong
authors.initials: QC
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.affiliation: Chair of Neurology, Dept. of Medicine, University of Fribourg & HFR, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Annoni
authors.affiliation: Neurorehabilitation Unit, Hôpital Fribourgeois (HFR), Switzerland.
authors.forename: Titus
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bihl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008124:Locomotion; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010291:Paresis / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013037:Spatial Behavior; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D014796:Visual Perception; D016138:Walking
keywords: Brain damage; Hemiparesis; Human locomotion; Path planning