Regional difference in prefrontal oxygenation prior to and during overground walking in humans: A wearable multi-channel NIRS study

Author(s):  
Ryota Asahara ◽  
Kei Ishii ◽  
Nan Liang ◽  
Yukari Hatanaka ◽  
Kei Hihara ◽  
...  

Using wireless multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy, regional difference in cortical activity over the prefrontal cortex (PFC) was examined prior to and during overground walking, and in response to changes in speed and cognitive demand. Oxygenated-hemoglobin concentration (Oxy-Hb) as index of cortical activity in ventrolateral PFC (VLPFC), dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC), and frontopolar cortex (FPC) was measured in 14 subjects, while heart rate was measured as estimation of exercise intensity in 6 subjects. The impact of mental imagery on prefrontal Oxy-Hb was also explored. On both sides, Oxy-Hb in VLPFC, DLPFC, and lateral FPC was increased prior to the onset of normal speed walking, whereas Oxy-Hb in medial FPC did not respond prior to walking onset. During the walking, Oxy-Hb further increased in bilateral VLPFC, whereas Oxy-Hb was decreased in DLPFC and lateral and medial FPC. Increasing walking speed did not alter the increase in Oxy-Hb in VLPFC but counteracted the decrease in Oxy-Hb in DLPFC (but not in lateral and medial FPC). Treadmill running evoked a greater Oxy-Hb increase in DLPFC (n = 5 subjects). Furthermore, increasing cognitive demand during walking, by deprivation of visual feedback, counteracted the decrease in Oxy-Hb in DLPFC and lateral and medial FPC, but it did not affect the increase in Oxy-Hb in VLPFC. Taken together, the profound and localized Oxy-Hb increase is a unique response for the VLPFC. The regional heterogeneity of the prefrontal Oxy-Hb responses to natural overground walking was accentuated by increasing walking speed or cognitive demand, suggesting functional distinction within the PFC.

Sports ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-François Fortin ◽  
François Billaut

Team-sport athletes and coaches use varied strategies to enhance repeated-sprint ability (RSA). Aside from physical training, a well-conducted warm-up enhances RSA via increased oxidative metabolism. Strategies that impede blood flow could potentiate the effects of a warm-up due to their effects on the endothelial and metabolic functions. This study investigated whether performing a warm-up combined with blood-flow restriction (WFR) induces ergogenic changes in blood volume, muscle oxygenation, and RSA. In a pair-matched, single-blind, pre-post parallel group design, 15 American football players completed an RSA test (12 × 20 m, 20 s rest), preceded by WFR or a regular warm-up (SHAM). Pressure was applied on the athletes’ upper thighs for ≈15 min using elastic bands. Both legs were wrapped at a perceived pressure of 7 and 3 out of 10 in WFR and SHAM, respectively. Changes in gastrocnemius muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2) and total hemoglobin concentration ([THb]) were monitored with near-infrared spectroscopy. Cohen’s effect sizes (ES) were used to estimate the impact of WFR. WFR did not clearly alter best sprint time (ES −0.25), average speed (ES 0.25), total time (ES −0.12), and percent decrement score (ES 0.39). While WFR did not meaningfully alter average SmO2 and [THb], the intervention clearly increased the maximum [THb] and the minimum and maximum SmO2 during some of the 12 sprint/recovery periods (ES 0.34–1.43). Results indicate that WFR positively alters skeletal muscle hemodynamics during an RSA test. These physiological changes did not improve short-term RSA, but could be beneficial to players during longer activities such as games.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1551
Author(s):  
Jinuk Kim ◽  
Gihyoun Lee ◽  
Jungsoo Lee ◽  
Yun-Hee Kim

In the elderly, walking while simultaneously engaging in other activities becomes more difficult. This study aimed to examine the changes in cortical activity during walking with aging. We try to reveal the effects of an additional task and increased walking speed on cortical activation in the young-old and the old-old elderly. Twenty-seven young-old (70.2 ± 3.0 years) and 23 old-old (78.0 ± 2.3 years) participated in this study. Each subject completed four walking tasks on the treadmill, a 2 × 2 design; two single-task (ST) walking conditions with self-selected walking speed (SSWS) and fast walking speed (FWS), and two dual-task (DT) walking conditions with SSWS and FWS. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was applied for measurement of cerebral oxyhemoglobin (oxyHb) concentration during walking. Cortical activities were increased during DT conditions compared with ST conditions but decreased during the FWS compared with the SSWS on the primary leg motor cortex, supplementary motor area, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in both the young-old and the old-old. These oxyHb concentration changes were significantly less prominent in the old-old than in the young-old. This study demonstrated that changes in cortical activity during dual-task walking are lower in the old-old than in the young-old, reflecting the reduced adaptive plasticity with severe aging.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 906
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Mikłosz ◽  
Bartłomiej Łukaszuk ◽  
Adrian Chabowski ◽  
Jan Górski

Endothelial lipase (EL) is an enzyme capable of HDL phospholipids hydrolysis. Its action leads to a reduction in the serum high-density lipoprotein concentration, and thus, it exerts a pro-atherogenic effect. This study examines the impact of a single bout exercise on the gene and protein expression of the EL in skeletal muscles composed of different fiber types (the soleus—mainly type I, the red gastrocnemius—mostly IIA, and the white gastrocnemius—predominantly IIX fibers), as well as the diaphragm, and the heart. Wistar rats were subjected to a treadmill run: 1) t = 30 [min], V = 18 [m/min]; 2) t = 30 [min], V = 28 [m/min]; 3) t = 120 [min], V = 18 [m/min] (designated: M30, F30, and M120, respectively). We established EL expression in the total muscle homogenates in sedentary animals. Resting values could be ordered with the decreasing EL protein expression as follows: endothelium of left ventricle > diaphragm > red gastrocnemius > right ventricle > soleus > white gastrocnemius. Furthermore, we observed that even a single bout of exercise was capable of inducing changes in the mRNA and protein level of EL, with a clearer pattern observed for the former. After 30 min of running at either exercise intensity, the expression of EL transcript in all the cardiovascular components of muscles tested, except the soleus, was reduced in comparison to the respective sedentary control. The protein content of EL varied with the intensity and/or duration of the run in the studied whole tissue homogenates. The observed differences between EL expression in vascular beds of muscles may indicate the muscle-specific role of the lipase.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Nuno M. M. Ramos ◽  
Joana Maia ◽  
Andrea R. Souza ◽  
Ricardo M. S. F. Almeida ◽  
Luís Silva

Near-infrared (NIR) reflective materials are being developed for mitigating building cooling needs. Their use contributes to broadening the range of colours, responding to the urban aesthetic demand without compromising the building performance. Despite the increase in NIR reflective pigments investigation, there is still a knowledge gap in their applicability, impact, and durability in multilayer finishing coatings of External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS). Hence, the main goal of this work consists of evaluating the impact of incorporating NIR reflective pigments (NRP) in the solar reflectance of the surface layer of ETICS, without affecting the colour perception, as well as their influence on the colour durability and surface temperature. As such, colour, solar reflectance, and surface temperature were monitored for 2 years in dark-coloured specimens of ETICS, with and without NRP and a primer layer. It was confirmed that the main contribution of NRP is the increase of solar reflectance and, consequently, the decrease in surface temperature, especially for high exterior temperatures (around 30 ºC). Moreover, these pigments highly increase the NIR reflectance without affecting the visible colour. In addition, they contribute to maintaining the colour characteristics. The application of primer increased the surface temperature, especially for higher exterior temperatures. However, it contributes to a lower colour difference and solar reflectance variation, which is an important achievement for durability purposes.


Micromachines ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zifeng Lu ◽  
Jinghang Zhang ◽  
Hua Liu ◽  
Jialin Xu ◽  
Jinhuan Li

In the Hadamard transform (HT) near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer, there are defects that can create a nonuniform distribution of spectral energy, significantly influencing the absorbance of the whole spectrum, generating stray light, and making the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the spectrum inconsistent. To address this issue and improve the performance of the digital micromirror device (DMD) Hadamard transform near-infrared spectrometer, a split waveband scan mode is proposed to mitigate the impact of the stray light, and a new Hadamard mask of variable-width stripes is put forward to improve the SNR of the spectrometer. The results of the simulations and experiments indicate that by the new scan mode and Hadamard mask, the influence of stray light is restrained and reduced. In addition, the SNR of the spectrometer also is increased.


2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanatsu Nagano ◽  
Rezaul K. Begg ◽  
William A. Sparrow ◽  
Simon Taylor

Although lower limb strength becomes asymmetrical with age, past studies of aging effects on gait biomechanics have usually analyzed only one limb. This experiment measured how aging and treadmill surface influenced both dominant and nondominant step parameters in older (mean 74.0 y) and young participants (mean 21.9 y). Step-cycle parameters were obtained from 3-dimensional position/time data during preferred-speed walking for 40 trials along a 10 m walkway and for 10 minutes of treadmill walking. Walking speed (young 1.23 m/s, older 1.24 m/s) and step velocity for the two age groups were similar in overground walking but older adults showed significantly slower walking speed (young 1.26 m/s, older 1.05 m/s) and step velocity on the treadmill due to reduced step length and prolonged step time. Older adults had shorter step length than young adults and both groups reduced step length on the treadmill. Step velocity and length of older adults’ dominant limb was asymmetrically larger. Older adults increased the proportion of double support in step time when treadmill walking. This adaptation combined with reduced step velocity and length may preserve balance. The results suggest that bilateral analyses should be employed to accurately describe asymmetric features of gait especially for older adults.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Yan Wang ◽  
Zong-hui Dang ◽  
Liang-ying Gan ◽  
Ciren Luobu ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
...  

Background: It is known that hypoxia influences many of the biologic processes involved in erythropoiesis; therefore, the high-altitude hypoxia may affect erythropoietin (EPO) responsiveness in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of altitude on EPO responsiveness in MHD patients. Methods: In this retrospective study, MHD patients from Tibet Autonomous Region People’s Hospital (3,650 m above sea level) and Peking University People’s Hospital (43.5 m above sea level) were recruited between May 2016 and December 2018. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to altitude. Variables including age, sex, dialysis vintage, dialysis modality, duration of EPO use, EPO doses, and laboratory tests were collected and analyzed. EPO responsiveness was measured in terms of the EPO resistance index (ERI). ERI was defined as the weekly weight-adjusted dose of EPO (IU/kg/week) divided by hemoglobin concentration (g/dL). The association between ERI and altitude was estimated using a multivariable linear regression model. Results: Sixty-two patients from Tibet Autonomous Region People’s Hospital (high-altitude [HA] group) and 102 patients from Peking University People’s Hospital (low-altitude [LA] group) were recruited. The ERI for HA group and LA group was 6.9 ± 5.1 IU w−1 kg−1 (g/dL)−1 and 11.5 ± 6.4 IU w−1 kg−1 (g/dL)−1, respectively. After adjusting for covariates by multivariable regression, altitude was independently associated with ERI (R2 = 0.245, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Altitude had an independent negative correlation with ERI. This result supported the hypothesis that altitude-associated hypoxia improved EPO responsiveness in MHD patients.


1996 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 1174-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Obrig ◽  
C. Hirth ◽  
J. G. Junge-Hulsing ◽  
C. Doge ◽  
T. Wolf ◽  
...  

We studied cerebral hemodynamic response to a sequential motor task in 56 subjects to investigate the time course and distribution of blood oxygenation changes as monitored by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). To address whether response is modulated by different performance velocities, a group of subjects (n = 12) was examined while performing the motor task at 1, 2, and 3 Hz. The results demonstrate that 1) the NIRS response reflects localized changes in cerebral hemodynamics, 2) the response, consisting of an increase in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration [oxy-Hb] and a decrease in deoxygenated hemoglobin concentration ([deoxy-Hb]), is lateralized and increases in amplitude with higher performance rates, and 3) changes in [oxy-Hb] and [deoxy-Hb] differ in time course. Changes in [oxy-Hb] are biphasic, with a fast initial increase and a pronounced poststimulus undershoot. The stimulus-associated decrease in [deoxy-Hb] is monophasic, and response latency is greater. We conclude that NIRS is able to detect even small changes in cerebral hemodynamic response to functional stimulation.


2021 ◽  

Hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI) is a leading cause of mortality in post-cardiac arrest (post-CA) patients who successfully survive the initial cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) but later die in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Therefore, a key priority of post-resuscitation ICU care is to prevent and limit the impact of HIBI by optimizing the balance between cerebral oxygen delivery and demand. Traditionally, an optimal systemic oxygen balance is considered to ensure the brain’s oxygen balance. However, the validity of this assumption is uncertain, as the brain constitutes only 2%of the body mass while accounting for approximately 20% of basal oxygen consumption at rest. Hence, there is a real need to monitor cerebral oxygenation realistically. Several imaging and bedside monitoring methods are available for cerebral oxygenation monitoring in post-CA patients. Unfortunately, each of them has its limitations. Imaging methods require transporting a critically ill unstable patient to the scanner. Moreover, they provide an assessment of the oxygenation state only at a particular moment, while brain oxygenation is dynamic. Bedside methods, specifically near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), brain tissue oxygen tension (PbtO2), and jugular venous oxygen saturation monitoring (SjvO2), have not often been used in studies involving post-CA patients. Hence there is ambiguity regarding clear recommendations for using these bedside monitors. Presently, the most promising option seems to be using the NIRS as an indicator of effective CPR. We present a narrative review focusing on bedside methods and discuss the evidence for their use in adult patients after cardiac arrest.


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