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Updated: Jul 31, 2026
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Motor Dual-Tasks for Gait Analysis and Evaluation in Post-Stroke Patients
Published on: March 11, 2021
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Cortical activation changes in supratentorial stroke patients during posture-cognition dual task
Jun He1, Chen Gong2, Xiang Zhu1
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Changzhou Dean Hospital, Changzhou, China.
Frontiers in Neurology
|July 1, 2025
Summary
Cognitive load and postural control impact brain activity during balance tasks in stroke survivors. Greater brain activation correlates with better balance and cognitive function, suggesting enhanced resource allocation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Motor Control
Background:
- Stroke often impairs postural control and cognitive function.
- Understanding cortical activation patterns is crucial for stroke rehabilitation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how postural control and cognitive demands affect cortical activation during balance tasks in stroke patients.
- To correlate cortical activation with balance and cognitive performance.
Main Methods:
- Utilized functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure cortical activation.
- Assessed 30 supratentorial stroke subjects performing single postural, single cognitive, and dual tasks.
- Analyzed activation in the sensorimotor cortex (SMC), premotor cortex (PMC), and prefrontal cortex (PFC).
Main Results:
- Cognitive single tasks (CST) and dual tasks (DT) elicited greater SMC and PMC activation than postural single tasks (PST).
- No significant difference in activation was observed between CST and DT.
- Cortical activation positively correlated with participants' balance and cognitive performance.
Conclusions:
- Both postural and cognitive challenges alter cortical activation in stroke patients.
- Higher cognitive load leads to increased cortical activation, potentially reaching an activation ceiling.
- Observed cortical activations are linked to functional recovery, with better-performing individuals demonstrating greater resource allocation capacity.
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