Highlights
- •Women, especially the young-old group, have better static balance than men.
- •Men have better dynamicbalance than women.
- •Posture-unrelated attention control is related to static balance in women.
- •Posture-unrelated attention control is related to dynamic balance in men.
- •Postural control is explained by “basic” inhibition and by auditory-distraction tasks.
Abstract
Objectives
The link between postural control and cognition is under-studied, especially in healthy
older adults. In the present study, we examined the link between postural control
and posture-unrelated attention control.
Study design and outcome measures
Healthy individuals (n = 112) – men aged 77.2 ± 5.5, and two groups of women, aged
78.6 ± 3.5 and 68.9 ± 3.7 – participated in this cross-sectional study. Postural control
was assessed by static balance (SB) posturography in eight standing positions, and
by two measures of dynamic balance (DB): the Timed Up-and-Go (TUG) test, and the Functional
Reach Test (FRT). Attention control (inhibition) was assessed by the Continuous Performance
Test (CPT) measuring Go/NoGo tasks with and without visual and audio distractors.
Results
Men tended to perform better on DB and women on SB. In the men, significant correlations
were observed between Go/NoGo tasks and DB (r range: 0.373 to 0.653 for TUG, and -0.342
to -0.530 for FRT). In the younger women, Go/NoGo tasks were correlated with SB (r
range: 0.323 to 0.572), and no correlations were observed in the older women. Go/NoGo
tasks without distractions followed by tasks with audio distractors explained postural
control measures.
Conclusions
Posture-unrelated attention inhibition was associated with SB in the women and with
DB in the men. Tasks with no distractions explained the variability in postural control
in both genders. It is recommended to examine the effect of balance exercises on postural
control and posture-unrelated attention control in both genders, and the contribution
of the relationship between postural control and posture-unrelated attention control
to falls in old age.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to MaturitasAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Aging causes a reorganization of cortical and spinal control of posture.Front. Aging Neurosci. 2014; 6: 28https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00028
- Associations between mobility, cognition, and brain structure in healthy older adults.Front. Aging Neurosci. 2017; 9: 155https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2017.00155
- Comparisons of interventions for preventing falls in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.JAMA. 2017; 318: 1687-1699https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2017.15006
- Balance performance is task-specific in older adults.Biomed Res. Int. 2017; 2017https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/6987017
- Postural orientation and equilibrium: what do we need to know about neural control of balance to prevent falls?.Age Ageing. 2006; 35: ii7-ii11
- Single stance stability and proprioceptive control in older adults living at home: gender and age differences.J. Aging Res. 2013; 2013https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/561695
- Gender differences in platform measures of balance in rural community-dwelling elders.Arch. Gerontol. Geriatr. 2005; 41: 201-209
- Postural sway reduction in aging men and women: relation to brain structure, cognitive status, and stabilizing factors.Neurobiol. Aging. 2009; 30: 793-807https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2007.08.021
- Effects of aging on prefrontal brain activation during challenging walking conditions.Brain Cogn. 2017; 115: 41-46
- Properties of the ‘Timed Up and Go’ Test: more than meets the eye.Gerontology. 2011; 57: 203-210https://doi.org/10.1159/000314963
- Aging and motor inhibition: a converging perspective provided by brain stimulation and imaging approaches.Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 2014; 43: 100-117https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.04.001
- The neural basis of inhibition in cognitive control.Neuroscientist. 2007; 13: 214-228
- Executive functions.Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2013; 64: 135-168
- Impact of physical activity on executive functions in aging: a selective effect on inhibition among old adults.J. Sport Exerc. Psychol. 2012; 34: 808-827
- From reactive to proactive and selective control: developing a richer model for stopping inappropriate responses.Biol. Psychiatry. 2011; 69: e55-e68
- Triangulating a cognitive control network using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional MRI.J. Neurosci. 2007; 27: 3743-3752
- Motor control and aging: links to age-related brain structural, functional, and biochemical effects.Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 2010; 34: 721-733https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.10.005
- Reduction of intracortical inhibition in soleus muscle during postural activity.J. Neurophysiol. 2006; 96: 1711-1717https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00133.2006
- Postural challenge affects motor cortical activity in young and old adults.Exp. Gerontol. 2016; 73: 78-85
- Perceptual inhibition is associated with sensory integration in standing postural control among older adults.J. Gerontol. Psychol. Sci. 2009; 64B: 569-576
- Individual differences in brainstem and basal ganglia structure predict postural control and balance loss in young and older adults.Neurobiol. Aging. 2017; 50: 47-59
- Sensorimotor-independent prefrontal activity during response inhibition.Hum. Brain Mapp. 2014; 35: 2119-2136https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.22315
- Physical predictors of cognitive performance in healthy older adults: a cross-sectional analysis.PLoS One. 2013; 8https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070799
- The meaning of cognitive impairment in the elderly.JAGS. 1985; 33: 228-235
- Age-friendliness and life satisfaction of young-old and old-old in Hong Kong.Curr. Gerontol. Geriatr. Res. 2017; 2017 (PMCID: PMC5350395)https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/6215917
- Functional reach: a new clinical measure of balance.J. Gerontol. B: Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci. 1990; 45: M192-M197
- Validity of the multi-directional reach test: a practical measure for limits of stability in older adults.J. Gerontol. A: Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 2001; 56: M248-M252
- The Timed ‘Up & Go’: a test of basic functional mobility for frail elderly persons.JAGS. 1991; 39: 142-148
- Test-retest reliability of Tetrax® static posturography system in young adults with low physical activity level.Int. J. Sports Phys. Ther. 2015; 10: 893-900
- The effect of environmental distractors incorporation into a CPT on sustained attention and ADHD diagnosis among adolescents.J. Neurosci. Methods. 2014; 222: 62-68
- The South African Society of Psychiatrists/Psychiatry Management Group management guidelines for adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.S. Afr. J. Psychiatry. 2017; 23https://doi.org/10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v23i0.1060
- Assessment of older people: self-maintaining and instrumental activities of daily living.Gerontologist. 1969; 9: 179-186
- Screening tests for geriatric depression.Clin. Gerontol. 1982; 1: 37-43
- International Physical Activity Questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity.Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2003; 35: 1381-1395
- Physiological redundancy in older adults in relation to the change with age in the slope of frailty index.JAGS. 2010; 58: 318-323
- Functional neuroimaging indicators of successful executive control in the oldest old.Neuroimage. 2005; 28: 881-889
- Normal walking speed: a descriptive meta-analysis.Physiotherapy. 2011; 97: 182-189
- Emerging concept: ‘Central Benefit Model’ of exercise in falls prevention.Br. J. Sports Med. 2013; 47 (PMC5226845: CAMS6449): 115-117https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2011-090725
- Anatomy of the vestibular system: a review.Neurorehabiliation. 2013; 32: 437-443https://doi.org/10.3233/NRE-130866
- Adaptations of prefrontal brain activity, executive functions, and gait in healthy elderly following exergame and balance training: a randomized-controlled study.Front. Aging Neurosci. 2016; 8https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2016.00278
Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 11, 2018
Accepted:
August 4,
2018
Received in revised form:
July 18,
2018
Received:
March 18,
2018
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.
