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Event ANT Neuromeeting 2026 - Philadelphia starts on Apr 15, 2026, 3:30:00 AM (US/Eastern)
Neural Signatures of Dual-Task Walking Demands in Individuals at Risk of Cognitive Impairment
4/15/26, 1:00 PM - 4/15/26, 1:35 PM (US/Eastern) (35 minutes)
Neural Signatures of Dual-Task Walking Demands in Individuals at Risk of Cognitive Impairment
Pierfilippo de Sanctis, PhD
Associate Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Pierfilippo de Sanctis, PhD
Associate Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
I am a cognitive neuroscientist with a research background in the basic neurophysiology of cognition and mobility in healthy and pathological aging. I apply EEG-based Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI) to the study of aging. MoBI enables parallel, millisecond-level recordings of neurophysiological signals and three-dimensional body kinematics while participants perform real-world activities, thereby combining high ecological validity with experimental rigor. Over the past decade, I have developed and validated a suite of MoBI-based paradigms to assess postural control, gait adaptation, dual-task walking, and spatial navigation, with the long-term objective of establishing MoBI as a clinical research tool for detecting early declines in cognition, mobility, and fall risk.
Difficulties in complex daily activities are a hallmark of dementia syndromes. We examined neural signatures of complex daily activity using electroencephalography in forty-five older adults performing a dual-task walking paradigm. Participants were stratified by risk of cognitive impairment (CI). Brain activation linked to gait-related and cognitive events were recorded during single- and dual-task conditions. We hypothesized that higher risk of CI is associated with poorer performance and distinct fronto-parietal activation during dual-task walking.Cognitive performance declined during walking, with individuals at higher risk of CI performing worse. Increased brain activity during the cognitive task was associated with a lower risk of CI. Both groups showed increased gait-related activation of sensorimotor and fronto-medial cortices during dual-task walking; however, greater sensorimotor activation was observed in individuals at higher risk of CI. Neural signatures of complex daily activity may help identify early signs of cognitive decline and inform prevention strategies.