Corticospinal control of normal and visually guided gait in healthy older and younger adults

• Published in: Neurobiology of aging Vol. 78; pp. 29 - 41
• Main Authors: Spedden, Meaghan Elizabeth, Choi, Julia T., Nielsen, Jens Bo, Geertsen, Svend Sparre
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.06.2019
• Subjects: Aging; Coherence; EEG; Elderly; Gait; Walking; Aging; Walking; Gait; Elderly; EEG; Coherence
• ISSN: 0197-4580; 1558-1497
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2019.02.005

We investigated age-related differences in corticospinal control of muscle activity during normal and visually guided (VG) walking. Young (n = 15, 22.1 ± 1.7 years) and older (n = 15, 68.3 ± 2.7 years) participants performed normal walking and VG walking requiring precise foot placement based on visual cues. Coherence analysis was used to quantify coupling between electroencephalography and electromyography from the anterior tibial muscle (corticomuscular) and between the 2 ends of the anterior tibial muscle (intramuscular) at 15–50 Hz during the swing phase of walking as markers of corticospinal activity. Our results indicated that corticomuscular and intramuscular coherence was lower in older compared to young participants during both tasks. In addition, coherence was generally greater during VG than during normal walking across age groups, although during late swing, older participants drove several of the observed task-related coherence increases. Performance on the VG task was lower in older compared to young participants and was correlated with task-related corticomuscular coherence modulations within the older group. These results suggest age-related differences in the corticospinal control of walking, with possible implications for precision control of foot placement based on visual information. •Corticospinal activity during walking is lower in older than in young adults.•Task-related modulation of corticospinal activity differs in older and young adults.•Modulations of corticospinal activity may play a functional role during walking.