Understanding Locomotion—As people ages they become less able to multitask while walking, leaving older adults at risk for falls, less mobility and disability. To understand the brain functions involved with this decline in multitasking while walking, Dr. Roee Holtzer and colleagues used functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to examine healthy elderly adults enrolled in their Central Control of Mobility in Aging study. The scientists found that the pre-frontal cortex (PFC) of the brain is involved in monitoring and pinpointing cognitive resources during movement. They also observed that PFC activity increases when the walking task became more cognitively challenging. In reporting their findings in the May 15, 2015 isssue of NeuroImage, they suggest that using fNIRS to assess PFC activation while walking and multitasking might help predict an individual’s risk for falling. Dr. Holtzer is associate professor in the Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology at Einstein and professor of psychology and of neurology at YU’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology.
Posted on: Monday, July 13, 2015