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Evaluating central mechanisms for age-related force control deficits of the legs

dc.contributor.authorHanson, Moriah R., author
dc.contributor.authorFling, Brett W., advisor
dc.contributor.authorBroussard, Josiane, committee member
dc.contributor.authorStephens, Jaclyn, committee member
dc.date.accessioned2020-01-13T16:42:19Z
dc.date.available2021-01-07T16:41:53Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.description.abstractAdvancing age is accompanied by several motor control impairments, including increased movement and force variability. Specifically, older adults display more variable and less accurate submaximal forces than young adults, which have been associated with fall risk in the aged population. These motor control changes take place in muscles in both the upper and lower limbs, and the mechanisms of these alterations are multifactorial, including sources in the peripheral and central nervous systems. Furthermore, inhibitory signaling in the motor cortex is related to force variability in small hand muscles, as well as to coordination of the legs during walking. It is unknown, however, whether inhibition is associated with force variability in the legs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between motor cortex inhibition and force variability in the quadriceps muscles of young and old adults. We measured quadriceps force variability and accuracy during a 2-minute force matching task and inhibition via the cortical silent period in 14 young and 15 old adults. Older adults produced more variable and less accurate forces than the young adults, though these differences were not significant. Additionally, older adults displayed less inhibition in their right cortical hemisphere than young adults, as well as interhemispheric inhibitory differences. Specifically, the left hemisphere displayed more inhibition than the right hemisphere in old adults. Furthermore, young adults with more inhibition generally produced more variable and less accurate forces than young adults with less inhibition, while older adults with more inhibition displayed less variable and more accurate forces. The between- and within-group differences in inhibition may point to age-related decline in right hemispheric function. Moreover, between-group differences in inhibition and force variability associations indicate a shift in the inhibitory control of movement, which is a similar finding to previous work on inhibition and lower limb coordination.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediummasters theses
dc.identifierHanson_colostate_0053N_15850.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/199870
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2000-2019
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.titleEvaluating central mechanisms for age-related force control deficits of the legs
dc.typeText
dcterms.embargo.expires2021-01-07
dcterms.embargo.terms2021-01-07
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineHealth and Exercise Science
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (M.S.)

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