Acoustic pre-stimulation modulates startle and postural reactions during sudden release of standing support surface in aging

Falls contribute to injuries and reduced level of physical activity in older adults. During falls, the abrupt sensation of moving downward triggers a startle-like reaction that may interfere with protective response movements necessary to maintain balance. Startle reaction could be dampened by senso...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human movement science 2020-12, Vol.74, p.102715-102715, Article 102715
Main Authors: Hsiao, HaoYuan, Creath, Robert A., Sanders, Ozell, Inacio, Mario, Beamer, Brock A., Rogers, Mark W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustic Stimulation
Adult
Aged
Aging
Aging - physiology
Arm - physiology
Biomechanical Phenomena
Electromyography
Falls
Female
Humans
Joints - physiology
Leg - physiology
Male
Muscle, Skeletal - physiology
Neck Muscles - physiology
Postural Balance - physiology
Pre-stimulus inhibition
Reflex, Startle - physiology
Standing Position
Startle
Young Adult
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Summary:Falls contribute to injuries and reduced level of physical activity in older adults. During falls, the abrupt sensation of moving downward triggers a startle-like reaction that may interfere with protective response movements necessary to maintain balance. Startle reaction could be dampened by sensory pre-stimulation delivered immediately before a startling stimulus. This study investigated the neuromodulatory effects of pre-stimulation on postural/startle responses to drop perturbations of the standing support surface in relation to age. Ten younger and 10 older adults stood quietly on an elevated computer-controlled moveable platform. At an unpredictable time, participants were dropped vertically to elicit a startle-like response. Reactive drop perturbation trials without a pre-stimulus (control) were alternated with trials with acoustic pre-stimulus tone (PSI). A two-way mixed design analysis of variance comparing condition (control vs. PSI) X group (younger vs. older) was performed to analyze changes in muscle activation patterns, ground reaction force, and joint angular displacements. Compared to younger adults, older adults showed lower neck muscle electromyography amplitude reduction rate and incidence of response. Peak muscle activation in neck, upper arm, and hamstring muscles were reduced during PSI trials compared to control trials in both groups (p 
ISSN:0167-9457
1872-7646
DOI:10.1016/j.humov.2020.102715