Cerebral Cortex Activation and Gait Performance between Healthy and Prefrail Older Adults during Cognitive and Walking Tasks

Pre-frailty is a transitional stage between health and frailty. Previous studies have demonstrated that individuals with pre-frailty experience declines in cognitive gait performances compared healthy individuals. However, the basic neural mechanism underlying this needs to be clarified. In cross-sectional study, twenty-one older adults fifteen underwent three conditions, including single task (SC), walking (SW), dual-task (DT), while cortical hemodynamic reactions were measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The prefrail group (PG) showed significantly lower activation of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC) than (HG) when performing SC (p < 0.05). PG Timed Up Go test step speed HG during SW coefficient variation (CV) length was higher DT No significant correlation cerebral parameters noted > Participants oxygenated area anterior (L-APFC) had frequency (r = −0.533, p 0.041), so did following indicators DT: L-APFC −0.557, 0.031); right −0.610, 0.016); motor −0.674, 0.006); −0.656, 0.008); −0.535, 0.040). negative correlations indicated compensatory effect pre-frailty. Therefore, promote compensate for impaired sensorimotor systems.