Effects of imaging gait on neural mechanisms and motor learning

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K16384
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
• Research Institution: Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare
• Principal Investigator: Ito Tomotaka 川崎医療福祉大学, 医療技術学部, 講師 (90587297)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 運動観察 / 歩行 / 観察経験 / 模倣 / イメージ能力 / 皮質脊髄路 / 経頭蓋磁気刺激

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We aimed to examine the factors that would affect corticospinal excitability while observing another individual's gait and to elucidate the characteristics of neural activity during gait observation. The corticospinal excitability was found to be augmented by the observer's experience on gait observation. This facilitation effect was also detected in observers without any visual experience on gait when they were instructed to closely observe one site of the lower limbs during gait observation. Furthermore, when they observed only the foot movements that were completely the same as those during walking, alterations in the corticospinal excitability while observing only the foot movements were different from those while observing the gait. Therefore, it was clarified that neural activities during gait observation show specific changes that differ from those during observation of other movements.

Free Research Field

リハビリテーション科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

運動観察を繰り返し行うことで脳に可塑的変化が生じることが報告されている。本研究では、歩行観察の経験を有する者はそうでない者と比較して、皮質脊髄路の興奮性が増大した。このことから、歩行観察を繰り返すことで脳の可塑的変化を誘導できる可能性が示唆された。また、観察部位を限定することで歩行観察中の皮質脊髄路の興奮性が増大した。歩行は多くの関節運動からなる複雑な動きであるため、歩行観察を治療として用いる場合は、治療対象となる観察部位を明確にして行う必要があると考えられた。
歩行能力の改善はリハビリテーションにおける主たる治療目標となるため、歩行観察を用いた治療の基礎的知見を得られたことは意義深いと考える。