Visual Information Processing in Older Adults: Force Control and Motor Unit Pool Modulation

Abstract

Increased visual information about a task impairs force control in older adults. To date, however, it remains unclear how increased visual information changes the activation of the motor unit pool differently for young and older adults. Therefore, this study aimed to determine how increased visual information alters the activation of the motor neuron pool and influences force control in older adults. Fifteen older adults (66–86 years, seven women) and fifteen young adults (18–30 years, eight women) conducted a submaximal constant force task (15% of maximum) with ankle dorsiflexion for 20 s. The visual information processing was manipulated by changing the amount of force visual feedback into a low-gain (0.05°) or high-gain (1.2°) condition. Older adults exhibited greater force variability, especially at high-gain visual feedback. This exacerbated force variability from low- to high-gain visual feedback was associated with modulations of multiple motor units, not single motor units. Specifically, increased modulation of multiple motor units from 10 to 35 Hz may contribute to the amplification in force variability. Therefore, our findings suggest evidence that high-gain visual feedback amplifies force variability of older adults which is related to increases in the activation of motor neuron pool from 10 to 35 Hz.

Keywords:

• aging
• visual feedback
• force control
• motor units

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Charisma Byrd for her helpful comments and suggestions on this paper.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Institute on Aging Grant R01 AG031769 to EAC.