The gait performance, sensorimotor cortical activation and their correlation during walking task among children with cerebral palsy: a fNIRS study.

BACKGROUND

This exploratory pilot study aimed to compare gait performance and sensorimotor cortical oxygenation during level overground walking between children with cerebral palsy (CP) and children with typical development (TD), and to examine relationship between gait parameters and cortical activation.

METHODS

Eight children with spastic CP (Gross Motor Function Classification System I–II; age 13.88 ± 1.25 years) and eight age-matched children with TD (age 13.75 ± 1.49 years) were recruited. Spatiotemporal gait parameters were obtained using a 12-camera motion capture system during 10 m overground walking at a self-selected speed. Changes in oxygenated haemoglobin (ΔHbO₂) over predefined bilateral sensorimotor regions of interest were recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Group differences in gait outcomes were analysed using Mann–Whitney U tests, while fNIRS outcomes were analysed using independent-samples t-tests. Associations between ΔHbO₂ and gait parameters were examined using Spearman correlation analysis with false discovery rate correction. All statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).

RESULTS

Compared with children with TD, children with CP showed significantly longer stride time, slower gait speed and shorter stride length, whereas no significant difference was found in stride width. ΔHbO₂ in the bilateral sensorimotor cortices (SMC) was significantly higher in children with CP than in children with TD. In the CP group, stride width was significantly negatively correlated with left SMC, whereas none of the other gait results were significantly correlated with SMC activation parameters. In the TD group, gait speed and stride length were positively correlated with left SMC, with no significant correlations observed for other gait parameters.

CONCLUSION

These findings reflect the distinctive characteristics of cortical activation and its association with gait performance in children with CP, providing a theoretical basis for the development of targeted rehabilitation strategies.