Biomechanical Analysis of Unplanned Gait Termination According to a Stop-Signal Task Performance: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

There is a correlation between cognitive inhibition and compensatory balance response; however, the correlation between response inhibition and gait termination is not clear. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the gait parameters of the lower extremity that occurred during unplanned gait termination (UGT) in two groups classified by the stop-signal reaction time (SSRT). Methods: Twenty young adults performed a stop-signal task and an unplanned gait termination separately. UGT required subjects to stop on hearing an auditory cue during randomly selected trials. The spatiotemporal and kinematic gait parameters were compared between the groups during UGT. Results: In phase one, the fast group had a significantly greater angle and angular velocity of knee flexion and ankle plantar flexion than the slow group (p < 0.05). Phase two showed that the fast group had a significantly greater angle and angular velocity of knee extension than the slow group (p < 0.05). Concerning the correlation analysis, the angle and angular velocity of knee flexion and ankle plantar flexion showed a negative correlation with the SSRT during UGT in phase one (p < 0.05). Phase two showed that the angle and angular velocity of knee extension was negatively correlated with the SSRT during UGT (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The shorter the SSRT, the greater the angle and joint angular velocity of the ankle or knee joint that were prepared and adjusted for gait termination. The correlation between the SSRT and UGT suggests that a participant’s capacity to inhibit an incipient finger response is associated with their ability to make a corrective gait pattern in a choice-demanding environment.

Kinetic and Kinematic Analysis of Gait Termination: A Comparison between Planned and Unplanned Conditions

“…The stopping trials were performed similarly to the walking trials, but the subjects were asked to stop upon reaching the force plates [19,20]. That is, their leading limb finished on the second force plate and their trailing limb finished on the ground beside the force plate (PGT condition) or on the first force plate (UGT condition), after which they were required to bring their trailing limbs parallel and maintain an upright standing posture for at least 3 s. In addition, they were asked not to slow down their gait before reaching the force plate [11]. If the participants appeared to have reduced their gait velocity before reaching the force plate, the trial was not analyzed.…”

“…Many studies have reported on the mechanisms of PGT and UGT using various analyses, including joint kinematics, and kinetics [9][10][11][12]. However, in these studies comparing the two conditions, only the main braking force that occurred during the stopping phase was analyzed.…”