Neural Oscillations and Functional Significances for Prioritizing Dual-Task Walking in Parkinson's Disease

Task prioritization involves allocating brain resources in a dual-task scenario, but the mechanistic details of how prioritization strategies affect dual-task walking performance for Parkinson's disease (PD) are little understood.

We investigated the performance benefits and corresponding neural signatures for people with PD during dual-task walking, using gait-prioritization (GP) and manual-prioritization (MP) strategies.

Participants (N = 34) were asked to hold two inter-locking rings while walking and to prioritize either taking big steps (GP strategy) or separating the two rings (MP strategy). Gait parameters and ring-touch time were measured, and scalp electroencephalograph was performed.

Compared with the MP strategy, the GP strategy yielded faster walking speed and longer step length, whereas ring-touch time did not significantly differ between the two strategies. The MP strategy led to higher alpha (8-12 Hz) power in the posterior cortex and beta (13-35 Hz) power in the left frontal-temporal area, but the GP strategy was associated with stronger network connectivity in the beta band. Changes in walking speed and step length because of prioritization negatively correlated with changes in alpha power. Prioritization-related changes in ring-touch time correlated negatively with changes in beta power but positively with changes in beta network connectivity.

A GP strategy in dual-task walking for PD can enhance walking speed and step length without compromising performance in a secondary manual task. This strategy augments attentional focus and facilitates compensatory reinforcement of inter-regional information exchange.