Pf. Tang et Mh. Woollacott, Phase-dependent modulation of proximal and distal postural responses to slips in young and older adults, J GERONT A, 54(2), 1999, pp. M89-M102
Citations number
33
Categorie Soggetti
Public Health & Health Care Science","Medical Research General Topics
Journal title
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
Background. Phase-dependent modulation of postural responses plays an impor
tant functional role in integrating reflexes into ongoing locomotion behavi
ors. This study tested the hypotheses that proximal and distal postural res
ponses are modulated differently according to the phases of the gait cycle
in young adults and that there is a decline in this modulatory ability with
normal aging.
Methods. Thirty-three healthy young adults (age = 25 +/- 4 years) and 32 he
althy older adults (mean age 74 +/- 14 years) participated. Subjects walked
across a movable force plate with its movement timed to heel strike or mid
stance to simulate a forward slip occurring at different times during the g
ait cycle. Surface electromyography was recorded from bilateral leg, thigh,
hip, and trunk muscles. Kinematic data were collected from the right (pert
urbed) side of the body.
Results. Postural responses to the heel strike slips occurred more frequent
ly, and were of shorter latency, longer burst duration, and greater burst m
agnitude, than those in response to the midstance slips. Whereas the early
and predominant postural responses came from bilateral tibialis anterior, r
ectus femoris, and biceps femoris muscles in heel strike slips, early postu
ral responses were observed in bilateral erector spinae muscles in midstanc
e slips. The late postural responses in midstance slips (from bilateral bic
eps femoris muscles and medial gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior of the n
onperturbed leg) assisted in foot liftoff of the perturbed leg and earlier
and safe landing with the nonperturbed leg. In response to the heel strike
versus midstance slips, older adults preserved the phase-dependent modulato
ry abilities of the occurrence, onset latency, and burst duration of their
postural responses, but not the ability to modulate burst magnitude, as com
pared to young adults.
Conclusion. Postural responses from the proximal and distal muscles in reac
tion to different temporal phasing of slips during the step cycle showed di
fferential modulation to meet the different task requirements. Older adults
preserve this modulatory ability but with limited capacity. Physiological
or psychological factors may influence older adults' phase-dependent modula
tory capacity.