ABSTRACT
We aimed to determine how prefrontal cortex activation and gait speed during walking is affected by cognitive dysfunction and dual-tasking. Eleven and 14 participants were included in the MOCA-J (Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment score) < 26 (age, 76.0 ± 5.7 years; sex, six men and five women) and the MOCA-J ≥ 26 groups (age 73.9 ± 4.3 years; sex, seven men and seven women), respectively. We measured prefrontal cortex oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) levels (using Pocket NIRS HM), and gait speed during normal and dual-task walking (a letter fluency task was added). The oxy-Hb levels were significantly lower in the MOCA-J < 26 group than in the MOCA-J ≥ 26 group during dual-task walking. The gait speed was significantly lower during dual-task walking, compared with normal walking, in the MOCA-J < 26group.These results may have been influenced by the compensatory mechanisms in the frontal lobe.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.