EEG-Based Detection of Inhibitory Control Activation During a Dual-Task

Neurocorrelates of the executive function inhibition were explored during a dual-task framework. Currently, there's a lack of comprehensive exploration into the specific EEG markers of inhibition activation within a dual-task framework. To quantitatively assess gait, a 3D motion analysis system comprising a 3D optoelectronic setup with 22 reflective markers placed on participants' bodies was employed. Concurrently, Go-NoGo tasks were administered to selectively activate inhibition at increasing level of difficult. Ten healthy subjects were involved in the study. EEG data of participants were acquired using the Mitsar EEG 201 system while walking and executing Go-NoGo tasks. The 19-wet-channel device provided an improvement in signal-to-noise ratio compared with a previous study by the authors on the same topic. Stride length parameter was computed to assess gait. A significantly lower stride length (0.06m with a p-value of 0.004 and 0.05m with a p-value of 0.007 for easy and hard difficulty, respectively) was observed during the fulfillment of both levels of Go-NoGo task, in contrast to the execution of the mere motor task. Inter-subject Spearman rank correlation and Friedman tests revealed a significant negative correlation between the task difficulty and (i) absolute delta power in Fp1, Fp2, and Fz, and (ii) absolute alpha and theta powers in Fp1 and Fp2, respectively. These findings confirm the relevance of EEG signals in monitoring executive functions involved during gait in a loss prevention framework.