Children have Greater Cortical Activity than Adults for Controlling Gait

2011

Max Kurz
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402-559-9599

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if there are differences in the amount of cortical activation during the walking patterns of adults and children. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to evaluate the amount of cortical activity as adults (Age = 23.7 + 1 yrs.) and children (Age = 13.2 + 3 yrs) walked on a treadmill. fNIRS quantifies the amount of deoxygenated and oxygenated hemoglobin in the neural tissues, which is closely linked to the amount of neuronal activity. Footswitches were used to assess the temporal kinematics, and goniometers were used to assess the lower extremity joint angles. We found no differences in any of the biomechanical variables (p>0.05), which indicated that the children had a biomechanically mature gait. However, the magnitude of the cortical activation was significantly higher for the children (p=0.03), suggesting that children require a greater amount of brain activity to control the walking biomechanics.

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