Electrical Neuroimaging of Brain Processes during Human Gait

描述(由申请人提供)：有一个重要的临床需要开发功能成像技术，可以量化人类运动过程中的大脑过程，并将它们与身体动力学联系起来。移动脑成像可以帮助诊断和治疗大量运动障碍和神经损伤的患者。我们认为，高密度脑电(EEG)的独立分量分析可以量化参与控制人类步态的不同大脑过程。此外，我们认为，使用脑电独立分量分析识别的大脑皮质过程与全身动力学相关。我们将研究健康的年轻受试者，在执行各种运动任务的同时，我们使用活动的头皮电极记录运动运动学和256通道脑电。在特定的目标1中，我们将检查受试者以不同的速度行走，以确定与步态周期同步的步内激活和去激活模式是否在不同的行走速度下保持一致。在具体目标2中，我们将研究被试者进行被动卧式和主动卧式步进，以确定感觉反馈与带有感觉反馈的运动前馈命令对大脑皮质过程的相对影响。我们假设被动的卧式踏步比主动的卧式踏步使用更少的皮层来源。我们还将比较积极的卧式步法和跑步机步行，以确定卧式步法和步行在激活大脑皮质过程方面的相似性。在具体目标3中，我们将研究受试者在分裂带跑步机上行走，以使用连贯性来量化感觉运动半球独立性。在具体目标4中，我们将研究受试者在狭窄的跑步机上安装的平衡木上行走，以确定维持和监测平衡所涉及的大脑皮层过程。这项研究的结果将促进我们对与人类行走控制相关的皮层动力学的理解，并将导致新的研究探索神经步态损伤的机制。这些发现还可以促进控制机器人矫形器或假肢的新的脑机接口技术。 公共卫生相关性：我们将使用头戴式电极和信号处理技术来识别与人类行走控制相关的大脑活动。这一结果可能会带来新的成像技术，用于研究运动障碍的诊断和康复过程中的大脑功能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is an important clinical need to develop functional imaging techniques that can quantify brain processes during human locomotion and relate them to body dynamics. Mobile brain imaging could assist with the diagnosis and treatment of patients with numerous movement disorders and neurological injuries. We propose that Independent Component Analysis of high-density electroencephalography (EEG) can quantify distinct brain processes involved in the control of human gait. Furthermore, we contend that electrocortical brain processes identified using Independent Component Analysis of EEG correlate with whole body dynamics. We will study healthy young subjects performing various locomotor tasks while we record movement kinematics and 256-channel EEG using active scalp electrodes. In Specific Aim 1, we will examine subjects walking at a range of speeds to determine if intra-stride patterns of activation and deactivation synchronized to the gait cycle are consistent across walking speeds. In Specific Aim 2, we will examine subjects performing passive recumbent stepping and active recumbent stepping to determine the relative effects of sensory feedback vs. motor feed forward commands with sensory feedback on electrocortical brain processes. We hypothesize that passive recumbent stepping will engage fewer electrocortical sources than active recumbent stepping. We will also compare active recumbent stepping with treadmill walking to determine the similarities between recumbent stepping and walking in activating cortical brain processes. In Specific Aim 3, we will examine subjects walking on a split-belt treadmill to quantify sensorimotor hemispheric independence using coherence. In Specific Aim 4, we will study subjects walking on a narrow treadmill-mounted balance beam to identify the electrocortical processes involved in maintaining and monitoring balance. The results from this study will advance our understanding of electrocortical dynamics related to the control of human walking, and will lead to new studies probing mechanisms of neurological gait impairments. The findings could also facilitate new brain- machine interface technologies for controlling robotic orthoses or prostheses. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: We will use head mounted electrodes and signal processing techniques to identify brain activity related to the control of human walking. The results may lead to new imaging techniques for studying brain function during diagnosis and rehabilitation of movement disorders.