Cognitive-Motor Interference Heightens the Prefrontal Cortical Activation and Deteriorates the Task Performance in
Swati M Surkar1, Rashelle M Hoffman2, Regina Harbourne3
1Department of Physical Therapy, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina; Department of Physical Therapy, Munroe Meyer Institute of Genetics and Rehabilitation, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska.
Objective:
To compare the prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation and task performance during single- and dual-task conditions between typically developing (TD) children and children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (HCP).
Design:
A prospective, comparative design.
Setting:
Research laboratory.
Participants:
Participants (N=21) included 12 TD children (age, 6.0±1.1y) and 9 children with HCP (age, 7.2±3.1).
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures:
PFC activation was assessed by measuring the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin while the children performed a shape-matching task with their more affected arm while sitting on a stable (single task) vs dynamic surface (dual task). The task performance was assessed with the total number of shapes matched, dual-task cost, and reaction time (RT).
Results:
For both conditions, the children with HCP exhibited greater PFC activation, matched a fewer shapes, and had slower RT than the TD children. These differences were accentuated during the dual-task condition and the dual-task cost was greater. An increase in the PFC activation during the dual-task condition was tightly correlated with a higher dual-task cost in children with HCP (r=0.77, P=.01).
Conclusions:
Children with HCP appear to have a heightened amount of PFC activity while performing a dual task. The greater cortical activity may be a result of the finite attentional resources that are shared between both the motor as well as cognitive demands of the task. The cognitive-motor interference is likely exacerbated in children with HCP because of the structural and functional brain changes as a result of an insult to the developing brain.
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