New Technological Pathway for Gait Rehabilitation

Overview

\*\*Brief Summary\*\* The study aims to explore how the integration of visual and motor systems can be trained and enhanced to improve gait rehabilitation in patients with various neurological and cardiovascular conditions. Scientific evidence highlights that physical activity requires coordination and precise processing of visual, auditory, and sensory information from the external environment, which is then integrated at the brain level. This process establishes synaptic connections that direct the movement of arms, hands, legs, and the trunk through bottom-up and top-down mechanisms. However, inaccurate or incomplete perceptual information can impair performance, even when accurate visual stimuli are provided, emphasizing the importance of assessing and enhancing visuo-motor integration. The research investigates the central mechanisms controlling peripheral muscle activation patterns during gait. While over-ground walking in healthy individuals generally does not activate the prefrontal cortex except in dual-task scenarios, evidence suggests that post-stroke patients exhibit increased prefrontal cortex metabolism during walking. Recent studies have shown that gait training with exoskeletal systems improves walking patterns in post-stroke patients by altering muscle activation patterns and increasing fronto-parietal connectivity. This study seeks to answer the following question: How do central and peripheral mechanisms interact to influence gait rehabilitation outcomes, and what role do visuo-motor integration and neuroplasticity play in this process? To address this, advanced neuroimaging technologies such as fMRI, dtMRI, and NIRS will be employed to investigate these mechanisms in vivo.