Older adults can rely on an auditory cue to generate anticipatory postural adjustments prior to an external perturbation

To minimize the potential postural disturbance induced by predictable external perturbations, humans generate anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) using visual information about a perturbation. However, it is unknown whether older adults can generate APAs relying on auditory information. Ten old...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Experimental brain research 2022-04, Vol.240 (4), p.1279-1292
Main Authors: Liang, Huaqing, Kaewmanee, Tippawan, Aruin, Alexander S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Balance
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Cues
Electromyography
Hearing
Humans
Muscle Contraction - physiology
Muscle, Skeletal - physiology
Muscles
Neurology
Neurosciences
Older people
Physiological aspects
Postural Balance - physiology
Posture
Posture - physiology
Psychological aspects
Research Article
Sensory integration
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Summary:To minimize the potential postural disturbance induced by predictable external perturbations, humans generate anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) using visual information about a perturbation. However, it is unknown whether older adults can generate APAs relying on auditory information. Ten older adults received external perturbations (a) with visual information but no auditory information available, (b) without neither visual nor auditory information, (c) with both visual and auditory information available, and (d) participated in training with only auditory information available. In addition, they were tested again after 1 week of washout period. Electromyography activities of eight leg and trunk muscles and ground reaction forces were recorded and analyzed during the anticipatory and compensatory phases. Outcome measures included the latencies and integrals of muscle activities, and center-of-pressure displacements. After a short period of training, participants were able to rely on the auditory cue only to generate APAs close to that when the visual information was available. In addition, after 1 week of washout period, they were able to partially retain the skill to rely on auditory cues to generate APAs. The outcome provides a foundation for future studies focusing on utilizing auditory cues to optimize postural control in individuals who have balance or vision deficit.
ISSN:0014-4819
1432-1106
DOI:10.1007/s00221-022-06336-4