Sparto Patrick J, Fuhrman Susan I, Redfern Mark S, Perera Subashan, Richard Jennings J, Alghwiri Alia A, Furman Joseph M
Department of Physical Therapy, University of Pittsburgh, 6035 Forbes Tower, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA,
Exp Brain Res. 2014 Dec;232(12):3977-89. doi: 10.1007/s00221-014-4081-z. Epub 2014 Sep 3.
The purpose was to examine age differences and varying levels of step response inhibition on the performance of a voluntary lateral step initiation task. Seventy older adults (70-94 years) and twenty younger adults (21-58 years) performed visually cued step initiation conditions based on direction and spatial location of arrows, ranging from a simple choice reaction time task to a perceptual inhibition task that included incongruous cues about which direction to step (e.g., a left pointing arrow appearing on the right side of a monitor). Evidence of postural adjustment errors and step latencies were recorded from vertical ground reaction forces exerted by the stepping leg. Compared with younger adults, older adults demonstrated greater variability in step behavior, generated more postural adjustment errors during conditions requiring inhibition, and had greater step initiation latencies that increased more than younger adults as the inhibition requirements of the condition became greater. Step task performance was related to clinical balance test performance more than executive function task performance.
目的是研究年龄差异以及不同水平的步反应抑制对自愿性侧步起始任务表现的影响。70名老年人（70 - 94岁）和20名年轻人（21 - 58岁）根据箭头的方向和空间位置进行视觉提示的步起始条件测试，范围从简单的选择反应时任务到包含关于向哪个方向迈步的不一致提示的知觉抑制任务（例如，显示器右侧出现向左指向的箭头）。从迈步腿施加的垂直地面反作用力记录姿势调整错误和步长潜伏期的证据。与年轻人相比，老年人在步行为上表现出更大的变异性，在需要抑制的条件下产生更多的姿势调整错误，并且步起始潜伏期更长，随着条件抑制要求的增加，其步起始潜伏期的增加幅度比年轻人更大。步任务表现与临床平衡测试表现的相关性高于执行功能任务表现。
