Novice Users' Brain Activity and Biomechanics Change After Practicing Walking With an Ankle Exoskeleton

Walking with an exoskeleton represents a sophisticated interplay between human physiology and mechanical augmentation, yet understanding of cortical responses in this context remains limited. To address this gap, this study aimed to explore cortical responses during walking with an ankle exoskeleton, examining how these responses evolve with familiarity to the augmentation. Healthy participants without prior exoskeleton experience underwent EEG, EMG, and motion capture analysis while walking with exoskeleton assistance at 1.2m/s. Initially, exoskeleton-assisted walking induced significant biomechanical changes accompanied by corresponding cortical alterations, leading to increased cortical involvement. In addition, after a brief familiarization period, significant increases in alpha band cortical power were observed, indicating decreased cortical engagement. These findings hold significance for elucidating the cortical mechanisms involved in exoskeleton-assisted walking and may contribute to the development of more seamlessly integrated augmentation devices.