Different Domains of Executive Function Dual Task Walking on Brain Activation and Gait Performance in Healthy Adults

Completed

• Conditions: Executive Function; Neurosciences

• Registration Number: NCT04905186
• Lead Sponsor: National Taiwan University Hospital

Brief Summary

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of different domains of executive function (EF) during dual task walking condition on brain activation and gait performance in healthy adults. There are two experiments will be conducted in this study. Experiment 1 is a pilot study to determine the same level of difficulty in 3 EF domains, including inhibition, working memory and cognitive flexibility. Experiment 2 is carried out to investigate the effects of 3 different domains of EF which difficulties are controlled on gait performance and brain activation in dual task condition. 10 subjects will perform Stroop test (2s/3s/4s to change question), backward digit spans (3/4/5 digits) and naming test in Experiment 1. In Experiment 1, the primary outcome is the correct response speed (CRS) while secondary outcome will be the brain activity. In Experiment 2, 30 subjects will perform the single cognitive task A (SCTA, Stroop test), single cognitive task B (SCTB, backward digit spans), single cognitive task C (SCTC, naming test), single walking task (SWT), dual task A (DTA, walking while performing cognitive task A), dual task B (DTB, walking while performing cognitive task B) and dual task C (DTC, walking while performing cognitive task C). The CRS, gait performance, brain activity and the dual task costs (DTC) will be recorded in the Experiment 2. Brain activities in prefrontal cortex (PFC), premotor cortex (PMC) and supplementary motor area (SMAs) will be measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during this study. One-way ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc test will be performed to establish the effect of different type of executive task on CRS or the brain activity. The differences of gait parameters and brain activity in different condition in the Experiment 2 will be examined by one-way ANOVA with repeated measured. Furthermore, the Pearson correlation coefficient will be used to examine the correlation of brain activation and executive function performance or gait parameters.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2021-05-13
• Study First Submitted QC: 2021-05-23
• Study First Posted: 2021-05-27
• Study Start: 2021-08-01
• Primary Completion: 2022-05-23
• Study Completion: 2022-05-23
• Status Verified: 2022-06
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-06-12
• Last Update Posted: 2022-06-14

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 39

Inclusion Criteria

• 20-30 years (Experiment 1 & 2)
• Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score greater than 24 points (Experiment 1 & 2)
• ability to walk 10 meters independently without an assistive device (Experiment 2)

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Exclusion Criteria

• any neurologic, orthopedic or psychological diseases (Experiment 1 & 2)
• color vision deficiency (Experiment 1 & 2)
• had the fall experiences within 6 months before the study (Experiment 2)

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Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Experiment 2: Executive function performance- correct response speed (CRS)	Day 1	CRS is the number of correct responses per unit time (correct responses/ second)
Experiment 2: walking performance- gait speed	Day 1	The unit is m/s
Experiment 2: walking performance- cadence	Day 1	The unit is steps/min
Experiment 2: dual task performance- dual task costs(DTC) in mobility	Day 1	DTC in mobility = (single task gait speed - dual task gait speed) / single task gait speed x 100%
Experiment 2: dual task performance- combine mean of dual task costs(DTC)	Day 1	combine mean of DTC = ( DTC in mobility + DTC in executive function) / 2
Experiment 1: Executive function performance- correct response speed (CRS)	Day 1	CRS is the number of correct responses per unit time (correct responses/ second)
Experiment 2: walking performance- stride length	Day 1	The unit is m
Experiment 2: dual task performance- dual task costs(DTC) in executive function	Day 1	DTC in executive function = (single task correct response speed - dual task correct response speed) / single task correct response speed x 100%

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Questionnaire in Chinese version	Day 1	used for the participants to sort the task by the difficulty level based on their own experiences.The participants will be asked to grade the tasks from 1-10 scale. Scale one is the simplest and 10 is the hardest.
Experiment 1: Brain activation over prefrontal cortex	Day 1	The unit is micro mole (μmol). A multichannel wearable fNIRS imaging system (NIRSport2, NIRx Medical Technologies LLC, Glen Head, NY, USA) is used to detect the hemodynamics, including oxygenated-hemoglobin and de-oxygenated hemoglobin.
Experiment 2: Brain activities over prefrontal cortex	Day 1	The unit is micro mole (μmol). A multichannel wearable fNIRS imaging system (NIRSport2, NIRx Medical Technologies LLC, Glen Head, NY, USA) is used to detect the hemodynamics, including oxygenated-hemoglobin and de-oxygenated hemoglobin.
Experiment 1: Brain activities over premotor cortex	Day 1	The unit is micro mole (μmol). A multichannel wearable fNIRS imaging system (NIRSport2, NIRx Medical Technologies LLC, Glen Head, NY, USA) is used to detect the hemodynamics, including oxygenated-hemoglobin and de-oxygenated hemoglobin.
Experiment 2: Brain activities over premotor cortex	Day 1	The unit is micro mole (μmol). A multichannel wearable fNIRS imaging system (NIRSport2, NIRx Medical Technologies LLC, Glen Head, NY, USA) is used to detect the hemodynamics, including oxygenated-hemoglobin and de-oxygenated hemoglobin.
Experiment 1: Brain activities over supplementary motor area	Day 1	The unit is micro mole (μmol). A multichannel wearable fNIRS imaging system (NIRSport2, NIRx Medical Technologies LLC, Glen Head, NY, USA) is used to detect the hemodynamics, including oxygenated-hemoglobin and de-oxygenated hemoglobin.
Experiment 2: Brain activities over supplementary motor area	Day 1	The unit is micro mole (μmol). A multichannel wearable fNIRS imaging system (NIRSport2, NIRx Medical Technologies LLC, Glen Head, NY, USA) is used to detect the hemodynamics, including oxygenated-hemoglobin and de-oxygenated hemoglobin.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

National Taiwan University Hospital; 🇨🇳 Taipei, Taiwan