Medial Temporal Lobe Atrophy in Older Adults With Subjective Cognitive Impairments Affects Gait Parameters in the Spatial Navigation Task

Both navigation abilities and gait can be affected by the atrophy in the medial temporal cortex. This study aimed to determine whether navigation abilities could differentiate seniors with and without medial temporal lobe atrophy who complained about their cognitive status. The participants, classif...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of aging and physical activity 2024-04, Vol.32 (2), p.185-197
Main Authors: Pawlaczyk, Natalia Anna, Milner, Rafał, Szmytke, Magdalena, Kiljanek, Bartłomiej, Bałaj, Bibianna, Wypych, Aleksandra, Lewandowska, Monika
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Atrophy - pathology
Cognitive Dysfunction - diagnosis
Gait
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Neuropsychological Tests
Spatial Navigation
Temporal Lobe - pathology
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Summary:Both navigation abilities and gait can be affected by the atrophy in the medial temporal cortex. This study aimed to determine whether navigation abilities could differentiate seniors with and without medial temporal lobe atrophy who complained about their cognitive status. The participants, classified to either the medial temporal atrophy group (n = 23) or the control group (n = 22) underwent neuropsychological assessment and performed a spatial navigation task while their gait parameters were recorded. The study showed no significant differences between the two groups in memory, fluency, and semantic knowledge or typical measures of navigating abilities. However, gait parameters, particularly the propulsion index during certain phases of the navigation task, distinguished between seniors with and without medial temporal lobe lesions. These findings suggest that the gait parameters in the navigation task may be a valuable tool for identifying seniors with cognitive complaints and subtle medial temporal atrophy.
ISSN:1063-8652
1543-267X
1543-267X
DOI:10.1123/japa.2022-0335