Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-19669
Publication type: Article in scientific journal
Type of review: Peer review (publication)
Title: Age-dependent asymmetry of wrist position sense Is not influenced by stochastic tactile stimulation
Authors: Georgarakis, Anna-Maria
Sonar, Harshal A.
Rinderknecht, Mike D.
Popp, Werner L.
Duarte, Jaime E.
Lambercy, Olivier
Paik, Jamie
Martin, Bernard J.
Riener, Robert
Klamroth-Marganska, Verena
et. al: No
DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00065
10.21256/zhaw-19669
Published in: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Volume(Issue): 14
Issue Date: 2020
Publisher / Ed. Institution: Frontiers Research Foundation
ISSN: 1662-5161
Language: English
Subjects: Proprioception; Motor Control; Stochastic Resonance; Noise-Enhanced; Vibration-Induced; Afferent Stimulation; Sensorimotor
Subject (DDC): 615.8515: Occupational therapy
Abstract: Stochastic stimulation has been shown to improve movement, balance, the sense of touch, and may also improve position sense. This stimulation can be non-invasive and may be a simple technology to enhance proprioception. In this study, we investigated whether sub-threshold stochastic tactile stimulation of mechanoreceptors reduces age-related errors in wrist position estimation. Fifteen young (24.5±1.5y) and 23 elderly (71.7±7.3y) unimpaired, right-handed adults completed a wrist position gauge-matching experiment. In each trial, the participant's concealed wrist was moved to a target position between 10 and 30° of wrist flexion or extension by a robotic manipulandum. The participant then estimated the wrist's position on a virtual gauge. During half of the trials, sub-threshold stochastic tactile stimulation was applied to the wrist muscle tendon areas. Stochastic stimulation did not significantly influence wrist position sense. In the elderly group, estimation errors decreased non-significantly when stimulation was applied compared to the trials without stimulation [mean constant error reduction Δμ(θofcon)=0.8° in flexion and Δμ(θoecon)=0.7° in extension direction, p = 0.95]. This effect was less pronounced in the young group [Δμ(θycon)=0.2° in flexion and in extension direction, p = 0.99]. These improvements did not yield a relevant effect size (Cohen's d < 0.1). Estimation errors increased with target angle magnitude in both movement directions. In young participants, estimation errors were non-symmetric, with estimations in flexion [μ(θyfcon)=1.8°, σ(θyfcon)=7.0°] being significantly more accurate than in extension [μ(θyecon)=8.3°, σ(θyecon)=9.3°, p < 0.01]. This asymmetry was not present in the elderly group, where estimations in flexion [μ(θofcon)=7.5°, σ(θofcon)=9.8°] were similar to extension [μ(θoecon)=7.7°, σ(θoecon)=9.3°]. Hence, young and elderly participants performed equally in extension direction, whereas wrist position sense in flexion direction deteriorated with age (p < 0.01). Though unimpaired elderly adults did not benefit from stochastic stimulation, it cannot be deduced that individuals with more severe impairments of their sensory system do not profit from this treatment. While the errors in estimating wrist position are symmetric in flexion and extension in elderly adults, young adults are more accurate when estimating wrist flexion, an effect that has not been described before.
URI: https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/19669
Fulltext version: Published version
License (according to publishing contract): CC BY 4.0: Attribution 4.0 International
Departement: School of Health Sciences
Organisational Unit: Institute of Occupational Therapy (IER)
Appears in collections:Publikationen Gesundheit

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Georgarakis, A.-M., Sonar, H. A., Rinderknecht, M. D., Popp, W. L., Duarte, J. E., Lambercy, O., Paik, J., Martin, B. J., Riener, R., & Klamroth-Marganska, V. (2020). Age-dependent asymmetry of wrist position sense Is not influenced by stochastic tactile stimulation. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2020.00065
Georgarakis, A.-M. et al. (2020) ‘Age-dependent asymmetry of wrist position sense Is not influenced by stochastic tactile stimulation’, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 14. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2020.00065.
A.-M. Georgarakis et al., “Age-dependent asymmetry of wrist position sense Is not influenced by stochastic tactile stimulation,” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, vol. 14, 2020, doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00065.
GEORGARAKIS, Anna-Maria, Harshal A. SONAR, Mike D. RINDERKNECHT, Werner L. POPP, Jaime E. DUARTE, Olivier LAMBERCY, Jamie PAIK, Bernard J. MARTIN, Robert RIENER und Verena KLAMROTH-MARGANSKA, 2020. Age-dependent asymmetry of wrist position sense Is not influenced by stochastic tactile stimulation. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 2020. Bd. 14. DOI 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00065
Georgarakis, Anna-Maria, Harshal A. Sonar, Mike D. Rinderknecht, Werner L. Popp, Jaime E. Duarte, Olivier Lambercy, Jamie Paik, Bernard J. Martin, Robert Riener, and Verena Klamroth-Marganska. 2020. “Age-Dependent Asymmetry of Wrist Position Sense Is Not Influenced by Stochastic Tactile Stimulation.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2020.00065.
Georgarakis, Anna-Maria, et al. “Age-Dependent Asymmetry of Wrist Position Sense Is Not Influenced by Stochastic Tactile Stimulation.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, vol. 14, 2020, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2020.00065.


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