Older adults can rely on an auditory cue to generate anticipatory postural adjustments prior to an external perturbation.

Abstract

To minimize the potential postural disturbance induced by predictable external perturbations, humans generate anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) using visual information about a perturbation. However, it is unknown whether older adults can generate APAs relying on auditory information. Ten older adults received external perturbations (a) with visual information but no auditory information available, (b) without neither visual nor auditory information, (c) with both visual and auditory information available, and (d) participated in training with only auditory information available. In addition, they were tested again after 1 week of washout period. Electromyography activities of eight leg and trunk muscles and ground reaction forces were recorded and analyzed during the anticipatory and compensatory phases. Outcome measures included the latencies and integrals of muscle activities, and center-of-pressure displacements. After a short period of training, participants were able to rely on the auditory cue only to generate APAs close to that when the visual information was available. In addition, after 1 week of washout period, they were able to partially retain the skill to rely on auditory cues to generate APAs. The outcome provides a foundation for future studies focusing on utilizing auditory cues to optimize postural control in individuals who have balance or vision deficit.