Brain Connectivity During Walking and Obstacle Avoidance in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls: A Pilot EEG Study
This study investigated effective connectivity and hemispheric asymmetry in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) compared to healthy controls (HC) during two walking conditions: walking alone and walking while avoiding unpredictable obstacles. Cognitive-motor interference (CMI) was analyzed using...
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IEEE
2025-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11095829/ |
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| author | Fares Al-Shargie Michael Glassen John DeLuca Soha Saleh |
| author_facet | Fares Al-Shargie Michael Glassen John DeLuca Soha Saleh |
| author_sort | Fares Al-Shargie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study investigated effective connectivity and hemispheric asymmetry in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) compared to healthy controls (HC) during two walking conditions: walking alone and walking while avoiding unpredictable obstacles. Cognitive-motor interference (CMI) was analyzed using electroencephalography (EEG) across beta, alpha, and theta frequency bands. Directed functional connectivity was estimated using partial directed coherence (PDC) to assess differences in connectivity patterns between conditions and groups. In healthy controls, obstacle avoidance increased connectivity in motor and cognitive regions including left central (LC), left temporal (LT), and right frontal (RF) regions, p<0.0014. In contrast, pwMS demonstrated weaker and more localized connectivity, primarily in the left central regions (sensorimotor cortices) p<0.0013, suggesting reduced efficiency in brain networks and compensatory mechanisms to maintain task performance. Further, pwMS showed left laterality toward the central region during both walking conditions compared to HC, p<0.05. Correlational analysis revealed that connectivity during obstacle avoidance in HC positively correlated with comfortable walking speed (r =0.57), indicating efficient neural pathways. In pwMS, connectivity showed a negative correlation with walking speed (r <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$= -0.65$ </tex-math></inline-formula>), indicating compensatory but inefficient neural engagement. These findings highlight disruptions in brain connectivity during motor-cognitive tasks in pwMS, with potential implications for designing targeted rehabilitation strategies to improve gait and neural efficiency. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d42f86f1343849cbbea628296b2b2175 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1534-4320 1558-0210 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-d42f86f1343849cbbea628296b2b21752025-08-20T03:43:47ZengIEEEIEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering1534-43201558-02102025-01-01332945295510.1109/TNSRE.2025.359249211095829Brain Connectivity During Walking and Obstacle Avoidance in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls: A Pilot EEG StudyFares Al-Shargie0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5792-8032Michael Glassen1John DeLuca2Soha Saleh3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9936-1249Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Sciences, School of Health Professions, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USADepartment of Rehabilitation and Movement Sciences, School of Health Professions, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USAKessler Foundation, Department of PM&R, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USADepartment of Rehabilitation and Movement Sciences, the School of Health Professions, the Department of PM&R, New Jersey Medical School, the Department of Neurology, the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USAThis study investigated effective connectivity and hemispheric asymmetry in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) compared to healthy controls (HC) during two walking conditions: walking alone and walking while avoiding unpredictable obstacles. Cognitive-motor interference (CMI) was analyzed using electroencephalography (EEG) across beta, alpha, and theta frequency bands. Directed functional connectivity was estimated using partial directed coherence (PDC) to assess differences in connectivity patterns between conditions and groups. In healthy controls, obstacle avoidance increased connectivity in motor and cognitive regions including left central (LC), left temporal (LT), and right frontal (RF) regions, p<0.0014. In contrast, pwMS demonstrated weaker and more localized connectivity, primarily in the left central regions (sensorimotor cortices) p<0.0013, suggesting reduced efficiency in brain networks and compensatory mechanisms to maintain task performance. Further, pwMS showed left laterality toward the central region during both walking conditions compared to HC, p<0.05. Correlational analysis revealed that connectivity during obstacle avoidance in HC positively correlated with comfortable walking speed (r =0.57), indicating efficient neural pathways. In pwMS, connectivity showed a negative correlation with walking speed (r <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$= -0.65$ </tex-math></inline-formula>), indicating compensatory but inefficient neural engagement. These findings highlight disruptions in brain connectivity during motor-cognitive tasks in pwMS, with potential implications for designing targeted rehabilitation strategies to improve gait and neural efficiency.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11095829/Multiple sclerosis (MS)walkingcognitive-motor interference (CMI)obstacle avoidanceelectroencephalography (EEG)functional connectivity networks |
| spellingShingle | Fares Al-Shargie Michael Glassen John DeLuca Soha Saleh Brain Connectivity During Walking and Obstacle Avoidance in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls: A Pilot EEG Study IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering Multiple sclerosis (MS) walking cognitive-motor interference (CMI) obstacle avoidance electroencephalography (EEG) functional connectivity networks |
| title | Brain Connectivity During Walking and Obstacle Avoidance in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls: A Pilot EEG Study |
| title_full | Brain Connectivity During Walking and Obstacle Avoidance in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls: A Pilot EEG Study |
| title_fullStr | Brain Connectivity During Walking and Obstacle Avoidance in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls: A Pilot EEG Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Brain Connectivity During Walking and Obstacle Avoidance in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls: A Pilot EEG Study |
| title_short | Brain Connectivity During Walking and Obstacle Avoidance in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls: A Pilot EEG Study |
| title_sort | brain connectivity during walking and obstacle avoidance in persons with multiple sclerosis and healthy controls a pilot eeg study |
| topic | Multiple sclerosis (MS) walking cognitive-motor interference (CMI) obstacle avoidance electroencephalography (EEG) functional connectivity networks |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11095829/ |
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