Cerebral Activation Patterns Of Older Adults While Performing The Functional Gait Test

Abstract Dual-task activities are common in daily life and have greater motor/cognitive demands. These are conditions that increase the risk of older adult falls. Falls are a public health problem. Brain mapping during dual-task activities can inform which therapeutic activities stimulate specific brain areas, improving functionality, and decreasing dependence and the risk of falls. The objective of the study was to characterize the brain activity of healthy older adults while performing a dual-task activity called the Functional Gait Test (FGT). Method : This observational study included 30 older adults aged 65 to 75 years, and it was approved by the institutional review board. The FGT consists of walking following a sequence of numbers (simple task), and a sequence of alternating letters and numbers (complex task). During the activity, the subjects had their cortical activation pattern measured using the Emotiv EPOC® electroencephalogram. Complete data was obtained for analysis on 13 participants. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), and paired T-tests to compare the brain activity during the conditions (simple vs. complex task). Results : Alpha brain waves were activated in the right and left hemispheres during the simple task, while Alpha brain waves’ activation during the complex task was predominant in the right hemisphere. However, the differences were not statistically significant. The Betha waves had predominant activation in the left hemisphere during the simple task, and predominant activation in the right hemisphere during the complex task. The difference was statistically significant in 11 out of the 14 channels evaluated ( P <0.04). Conclusion: The results corroborates the increased complexity of dual-tasks due to the predominant activation of the right hemisphere, which is related to motor learning process and new stimulus processing.