Lateralized modulation of cortical beta power during human gait is related to arm swing
Marzieh Borhanazad,
Bernadette C.M. van Wijk,
Annemieke I. Buizer,
Jennifer N. Kerkman,
Annike Bekius,
Nadia Dominici,
Andreas Daffertshofer
Affiliations
Marzieh Borhanazad
Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081 BT, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Rehabilitation & Development, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Bernadette C.M. van Wijk
Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081 BT, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Rehabilitation & Development, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Neurology, Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1105 AZ, the Netherlands; Corresponding author
Annemieke I. Buizer
Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Rehabilitation & Development, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Amsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081 HZ, the Netherlands
Jennifer N. Kerkman
Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081 BT, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Rehabilitation & Development, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Annike Bekius
Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081 BT, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Rehabilitation & Development, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, UMC Utrecht Brain Centre, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CG, the Netherlands
Nadia Dominici
Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081 BT, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Rehabilitation & Development, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Andreas Daffertshofer
Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081 BT, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Rehabilitation & Development, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Summary: Human gait is a complex behavior requiring dynamic control of upper and lower extremities that is accompanied by cortical activity in multiple brain areas. We investigated the contribution of beta (15–30 Hz) and gamma (30–50 Hz) band electroencephalography (EEG) activity during specific phases of the gait cycle, comparing treadmill walking with and without arm swing. Modulations of spectral power in the beta band during early double support and swing phases source-localized to the sensorimotor cortex ipsilateral, but not contralateral, to the leading leg. The lateralization disappeared in the condition with constrained arms, together with an increase of activity in bilateral supplementary motor areas. By contrast, gamma band modulations that localized to the presumed leg area of sensorimotor cortex around the heel-strike events were unaffected by arm movement. Our findings demonstrate that arm swing is accompanied by considerable cortical activation that should not be neglected in gait-related neuroimaging studies.
