Contribution of the central nervous system to the response to kinesthetic perception in elderly and its relationship to postural control

• Grant number: 09/09286-9
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): September 01, 2009
• Effective date (End): August 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Biomedical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: André Fábio Kohn
• Grantee: Diana Rezende de Toledo
• Home Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The decrease in the quality of proprioceptive information arriving at the central nervous system (CNS) has been considered as one of the main factors that contribute to changes in the postural control in the elderly. A thorough investigation of the role of the proprioceptive system in postural control would require the assessment of both the peripheral and central parts of the nervous system involved in proprioception. The aim of this study is to investigate the contribution of cortical and subcortical structures and the contribution of afferent and efferent pathways to proprioceptive responses related do passive joint movement perception, investigating if neurophysiologic differences exist between young and old adults that could be correlated to changes in postural control performance in the elderly. Old and young adults will be assessed in their response to passive joint movement perception (muscle activation latency and somatosensory and pre-motor cortical activation following ankle movement). The leg H-reflex will also be evaluated quantitatively (spinal cord and nerve dynamics), and finally, the coupling between sensory information and motor action will be assessed using the "moving room" paradigm. The signals will be analyzed by routines developed in LabView and Matlab, followed by appropriate statistical analyses. The contribution of neurophysiologic variables to the proprioceptive and postural control performance will also be analyzed, aiming at a better knowledge of the neurophysiologic changes that occur with aging.

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

TOLEDO, DIANA R.; BARELA, JOSE A.; KOHN, ANDRE F. IMPROVED PROPRIOCEPTIVE FUNCTION BY APPLICATION OF SUBSENSORY ELECTRICAL NOISE: EFFECTS OF AGING AND TASK-DEMAND. Neuroscience, v. 358, p. 103-114, SEP 1 2017. Web of Science Citations: 7.

TOLEDO, DIANA R.; BARELA, JOSE A.; MANZANO, GILBERTO M.; KOHN, ANDRE F. Age-related differences in EEG beta activity during an assessment of ankle proprioception. Neuroscience Letters, v. 622, p. 1-5, MAY 27 2016. Web of Science Citations: 3.

TOLEDO, DIANA R.; MANZANO, GILBERTO M.; BARELA, JOSE A.; KOHN, ANDRE F. Cortical correlates of response time slowing in older adults: ERP and ERD/ERS analyses during passive ankle movement. CLINICAL NEUROPHYSIOLOGY, v. 127, n. 1, p. 655-663, JAN 2016. Web of Science Citations: 14.

MAGALHAES, FERNANDO HENRIQUE; DE TOLEDO, DIANA REZENDE; KOHN, ANDRE FABIO. Plantar flexion force induced by amplitude-modulated tendon vibration and associated soleus V/F-waves as an evidence of a centrally-mediated mechanism contributing to extra torque generation in humans. JOURNAL OF NEUROENGINEERING AND REHABILITATION, v. 10, MAR 25 2013. Web of Science Citations: 6.