Inhibitory control of gait initiation in humans: an electroencephalography study

Abstract

Response inhibition is a crucial component of executive control. Although mainly studied in upper limb tasks, it is fully implicated in gait initiation. Here, we assessed the influence of proactive and reactive inhibitory control during gait initiation in healthy adult participants. For this purpose, we measured kinematics and electroencephalography (EEG) activity (event-related potential [ERP] and time-frequency data) during a modified Go/NoGo gait initiation task in 23 healthy adults. The task comprised Go-certain, Go-uncertain, and NoGo conditions. Each trial included preparatory and imperative stimuli. Our results showed that go-uncertainty resulted in delayed reaction time (RT), without any difference for the other parameters of gait initiation. Proactive inhibition, i.e. Go uncertain versus Go certain conditions, influenced EEG activity as soon as the preparatory stimulus. Moreover, both proactive and reactive inhibition influenced the amplitude of the ERPs (central P1, occipito-parietal N1, and N2/P3) and theta and alpha/low beta band activities in response to the imperative--Go-uncertain versus Go-certain and NoGo versus Go-uncertain--stimuli. These findings demonstrate that the uncertainty context induced proactive inhibition, as reflected in delayed gait initiation. Proactive and reactive inhibition elicited extended and overlapping modulations of ERP and time-frequency activities. This study shows protracted influence of inhibitory control in gait initiation.