Temporal and spatial organization of gait-related electrocortical potentials

•A gait-related cortical potential (GRCP) occurs over the motor cortex during walking.•The temporal pattern of the GRCP is phase-locked to specific events in the gait cycle.•A widely distributed cortical network is involved in gait control.

To advance gait rehabilitation research it is of great importance to understand the supraspinal control of walking. In this study, the temporal and spatial characteristics of averaged electrocortical activity during treadmill walking in healthy subjects was assessed. Electroencephalography data were recorded from 32 scalp locations, averaged across trials, and related to phases of the gait cycle based on the detection of left heel strike. A characteristic temporal pattern of positive and negative potentials, similar to movement-related cortical potentials, and related to the gait cycle was observed over the cortical leg representation area. Source localization analysis revealed that mainly the primary somatosensory, somatosensory association, primary motor and cingulate cortex were activated during walking. The negative peaks of the gait-related cortical potential were associated with activity predominantly in the cingulate and prefrontal cortex, while the primary motor, primary somatosensory and somatosensory association cortex were mainly active during the positive peaks. This study identified gait-related cortical potentials during walking. The results indicate a widely distributed cortical network involved in gait control.