Prefrontal Cortex Activation Measured during Different Footwear and Ground Conditions Using fNIRS — A Case Study

Human gait uses complex coordination between muscles, joints, and brain, which involves a high cognition level. Planning of this complex cognitive behaviour involves the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of the brain cerebrum. Due to mobility and comfortability, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is widely used to monitor brain activation in the PFC. This case study reports on a novel approach towards investigating the effect of different walking patterns, footwear, and ground conditions on prefrontal activation. An activation map of oxygenated haemoglobin (HbO) based on the t-values method was generated for comparative analysis of cognitive levels in different conditions. High activation in the PFC was found while performing barefooted simple and catwalks on the Kybun® mat. Compared to all other walking conditions, low channel activation was observed while performing a barefooted walk on a hard surface. The difference in activation level between two different footwear types (shoes with different heelbone angle construction) was not significant. Similarly, the activation in pre- and post-exercise was almost similar. Improvements such as increasing the number of subjects, experimental length, and the number of optodes are considered for further experiments. The experimental setup and paradigm need further improvement to understand better the effect of footwear, walking patterns, and ground conditions on the prefrontal activation during walking.