Brain mechanisms of balance learning in aging

Conditions: aging
elderly
10028302

Registration Number: NL-OMON46778

Lead Sponsor: niversitair Medisch Centrum Groningen

Brief Summary: Not available

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: Pending

Sex: Not specified

Target Recruitment: 288

Inclusion Criteria

Healthy younger group: 18 - 30 years
Healthy older group: 65 - 85 years

Exclusion Criteria

A score higher than 70 on the falls self-efficacy scale
More than 1 fall over the past year (*Coming unintentionally to rest on the ground, floor, or lower level*)
Do not meet TMS guidelines
Unable to stand independently for 10 minutes without rest
Epilepsy
Any metal in the brain/skull
Electrical, magnetic, or mechanical implantation: cardiac pacemakers or intracerebral vascular clip
Pregnancy or suspicion of pregnancy
History of seizures or unexplained loss of consciousness
Immediate family member with epilepsy
Use of seizure threshold lowering medicine
History of Schizophrenia
History of Hallucinations
History of other neurological disorders
A prior stroke, heart attack, heart failure, bypass, cardiac arhythmia
Acute flu or cold
Spinal, joint, and head pain
Diabetes mellitus
Hypertension (systolic/diastolic > 160/ > 100 mmHg)
Acute and chronic inflammatory condition
Severe arthrosis
Vertigo
Knee or hip endoprosthesis
Trauma within the last 6 months
Active cancer, cancer therapy

Study & Design

Study Type: Interventional

Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
<p>Behavioral outcome during balance learning is the error produced by balancing<br /><br>on an unstable balance board (Sensamove, Groessen, NL). The error, in degrees,<br /><br>is computed as the cumulative deviation between the position of the board<br /><br>relative to the horizontal.<br /><br><br /><br>TMS outcomes include the size of the short-interval intracortical inhibition<br /><br>(SICI), long-interval intracortical inhibition (LICI), and corticospinal<br /><br>excitability measured as the amplitude of the motor evoked potential (MEP).<br /><br><br /><br>EEG outcomes include the phase slope index, a measure of connectivity in the<br /><br>frequency domain between specific brain areas. </p><br>

Secondary Outcome Measures