title: The neural substrate of gait and executive function relationship in elderly women: A PET study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Understanding the relationship between age-related gait impairment, such as slow gait, and executive functioning in seniors may help identify individuals at higher risk of mobility decline, falls, and progression to dementia at earlier stages. We aim to identify brain regions concomitantly associated with poor gait and executive functioning in a cohort of well-functioning elderly women.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 149 well-functioning women aged 70.1 ± 6.2 years underwent FDG-PET to evaluate regional cerebral metabolic rates of glucose normalized in reference to cerebellar glucose metabolic value (normalized-rCMRglc) in 16 brain areas. We assessed gait speed, step length and cadence under usual and fast conditions. Executive function was assessed using Trail-Making-Tests (TMT) A and B.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adjusted multiple regression analyses for potential covariates showed that TMT-B and ΔTMT (TMT B-A) were associated with gait speed and cadence at fast condition. Lower normalized-rCMRglc in the posterior cingulate and primary sensorimotor cortices were associated with longer TMT-B and ΔTMT times (i.e., lower executive function) as well as with slower gait speed and lower cadence at fast condition. Slower gait speed and lower cadence at fast condition were also associated with lower normalized-rCMRglc in the occipital and parietal cortices. There were no other significant associations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In healthy elderly women without impending disability or cognitive impairment, reduced glucose metabolism in the posterior cingulate and primary sensorimotor cortices were associated with both lower gait performance and executive functioning. Our results suggest that gait control and executive functions might share the same neural substrate. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1873-1880.
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.|Gait and Brain Lab, Parkwood Institute, University of Western Ontario and Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada.|Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, Japan.|Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryota
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sakurai
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Neuroimaging, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yasunaga
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Rumi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoh
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Murayama
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Promoting Independence of the Elderly, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakuma
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Neuroimaging, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Muneyuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakata
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Neuroimaging, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.|Department of Radiological Technology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University of Science, Hokkaido, Japan.
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oda
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Neuroimaging, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishibashi
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Neuroimaging, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishiwata
authors.affiliation: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.affiliation: Gait and Brain Lab, Parkwood Institute, University of Western Ontario and Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Montero-Odasso
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D014145:Trail Making Test
chemical_list: D005947:Glucose
keywords: brain aging; cerebral glucose metabolism; executive function; gait; older adults