A central theme of the research within the Pittsburgh OAIC has been to characterize brain function related to mobility and balance using a multidisciplinary team and a combination of methods including biomechanics, cognitive testing, and functional neuroimaging. To date, several groups at this center and elsewhere have explored determinants of mobility using functional MRI. However, a major criticism of these studies is that the imaging activities were not done under weight-bearing conditions, which may substantially affect postural control and hence brain activation. While advancements have been made to simulate more realistic mobility conditions for the subject within the MRI scanner, it is unclear how well these approaches approximate real-world scenarios and unconstrained movements with upright posture. NIRS provides a solution to this problem by allowing brain imaging outside of the MRI scanner environment.
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