TY - JOUR
T1 - Aging-related changes in cortical mechanisms supporting postural control during base of support and optic flow manipulations
AU - Malcolm, Brenda R.
AU - Foxe, John J.
AU - Joshi, Sonja
AU - Verghese, Joe
AU - Mahoney, Jeannette R.
AU - Molholm, Sophie
AU - De Sanctis, Pierfilippo
N1 - Funding Information:
The primary source of funding for this work was provided by a Mentored Research Scientist Development Award from the National Institute on Aging (5K01AG049991). Participant recruitment was assisted by JRM and supported by the National Institute on Aging (R01AG044007, R01AG036921, and K01AG049813) and by the Resnick Gerontology Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Participant evaluation and neuropsychological assessments were aided by the Human Clinical Phenotyping Core at Einstein, a facility of the Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (RFK‐IDDRC) which is funded by a center grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD U54 HD090260). We thank Dr. Ana Francisco and Dr. Shlomit Beker for their generous technical assistance and statistical expertise. Finally, sincere thanks go to our participants for their willingness to volunteer for this research.
Funding Information:
The primary source of funding for this work was provided by a Mentored Research Scientist Development Award from the National Institute on Aging (5K01AG049991). Participant recruitment was assisted by JRM and supported by the National Institute on Aging (R01AG044007, R01AG036921, and K01AG049813) and by the Resnick Gerontology Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Participant evaluation and neuropsychological assessments were aided by the Human Clinical Phenotyping Core at Einstein, a facility of the Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (RFK-IDDRC) which is funded by a center grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD?U54 HD090260). We thank Dr. Ana Francisco and Dr. Shlomit Beker for their generous technical assistance and statistical expertise. Finally, sincere thanks go to our participants for their willingness to volunteer for this research.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - Behavioral findings suggest that aging alters the involvement of cortical sensorimotor mechanisms in postural control. However, corresponding accounts of the underlying neural mechanisms remain sparse, especially the extent to which these mechanisms are affected during more demanding tasks. Here, we set out to elucidate cortical correlates of altered postural stability in younger and older adults. 3D body motion tracking and high-density electroencephalography (EEG) were measured while 14 young adults (mean age = 24 years, 43% women) and 14 older adults (mean age = 77 years, 50% women) performed a continuous balance task under four different conditions. Manipulations were applied to the base of support (either regular or tandem (heel-to-toe) stance) and visual input (either static visual field or dynamic optic flow). Standing in tandem, the more challenging position, resulted in increased sway for both age groups, but for the older adults, only this effect was exacerbated when combined with optic flow compared to the static visual display. These changes in stability were accompanied by neuro-oscillatory modulations localized to midfrontal and parietal regions. A cluster of electro-cortical sources localized to the supplementary motor area showed a large increase in theta spectral power (4–7 Hz) during tandem stance, and this modulation was much more pronounced for the younger group. Additionally, the older group displayed widespread mu (8–12 Hz) and beta (13–30 Hz) suppression as balance tasks placed more demands on postural control, especially during tandem stance. These findings may have substantial utility in identifying early cortical correlates of balance impairments in otherwise healthy older adults.
AB - Behavioral findings suggest that aging alters the involvement of cortical sensorimotor mechanisms in postural control. However, corresponding accounts of the underlying neural mechanisms remain sparse, especially the extent to which these mechanisms are affected during more demanding tasks. Here, we set out to elucidate cortical correlates of altered postural stability in younger and older adults. 3D body motion tracking and high-density electroencephalography (EEG) were measured while 14 young adults (mean age = 24 years, 43% women) and 14 older adults (mean age = 77 years, 50% women) performed a continuous balance task under four different conditions. Manipulations were applied to the base of support (either regular or tandem (heel-to-toe) stance) and visual input (either static visual field or dynamic optic flow). Standing in tandem, the more challenging position, resulted in increased sway for both age groups, but for the older adults, only this effect was exacerbated when combined with optic flow compared to the static visual display. These changes in stability were accompanied by neuro-oscillatory modulations localized to midfrontal and parietal regions. A cluster of electro-cortical sources localized to the supplementary motor area showed a large increase in theta spectral power (4–7 Hz) during tandem stance, and this modulation was much more pronounced for the younger group. Additionally, the older group displayed widespread mu (8–12 Hz) and beta (13–30 Hz) suppression as balance tasks placed more demands on postural control, especially during tandem stance. These findings may have substantial utility in identifying early cortical correlates of balance impairments in otherwise healthy older adults.
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U2 - 10.1111/ejn.15004
DO - 10.1111/ejn.15004
M3 - Article
C2 - 33047390
AN - SCOPUS:85093928898
VL - 54
SP - 8139
EP - 8157
JO - European Journal of Neuroscience
JF - European Journal of Neuroscience
SN - 0953-816X
IS - 12
ER -