Lena Ting from Emory University and her colleagues reported on Mar. 23 that they have studied how brain and muscle activity change during balance recovery in older adults, including those with Parkinson's disease.
Understanding how aging and neurological conditions affect balance is important because falls are a leading cause of injury among older adults. The study, published in eNeuro, looked at the body's responses to sudden loss of balance.
Ting's previous research showed that young adults experience an immediate involuntary response from the brainstem and muscles when their balance is disturbed, followed by a second wave of activity for more difficult challenges. In this new study involving older adults with and without Parkinson's disease, the researchers found that both groups had larger brain responses and increased muscle signals even when faced with small disturbances.
The team also observed that when older individuals used one muscle to regain their balance, opposing muscles would stiffen. This stiffening was linked to poorer performance in maintaining balance.
The researchers said their technical approach could offer a more precise way to determine if someone is at risk for poor balance recovery. Ting said, "We may be able to determine whether someone has increased brain activity simply by assessing muscle activity after pulling a rug out from under you." She added that further work is needed to optimize this method but suggested it could help identify people who might benefit from targeted training before they experience a fall.
