Université de Fribourg

Age-dependent adaptations to anticipated and non-anticipated perturbations after balance training in children

Wälchli, Michael ; Keller, Martin ; Ruffieux, Jan ; Mouthon, Audrey ; Taube, Wolfgang

In: Human Movement Science, 2018, vol. 59, p. 170–177

Postural control undergoes rapid changes during child development. However, the influence of balance training (BT) on the compensation of perturbations has not yet been investigated in children. For this purpose, young (6.7 ± 0.6 years) and old children (12.0 ± 0.4 years) were exposed to externally induced anticipated (direction known) and non-anticipated (direction unknown)...

Université de Fribourg

Age-related differences in cortical and subcortical activities during observation and motor imagery of dynamic postural tasks: an FMRI study

Mouthon, Audrey ; Ruffieux, Jan ; Mouthon, Michael ; Hoogewoud, Henri-Marcel ; Annoni, Jean-Marie ; Taube, Wolfgang

In: Neural Plasticity, 2018, p. -

Age-related changes in brain activation other than in the primary motor cortex are not well known with respect to dynamic balance control. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore age-related differences in the control of static and dynamic postural tasks using fMRI during mental simulation of balance tasks. For this purpose, 16 elderly (72 ± 5 years) and 16 young adults...

Université de Fribourg

Balance training reduces brain activity during motor simulation of a challenging balance task in older adults: an fMRI study

Ruffieux, Jan ; Mouthon, Audrey ; Keller, Martin ; Mouthon, Michaël ; Annoni, Jean-Marie ; Taube, Wolfgang

In: Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 2018, vol. 12, p. -

Aging is associated with a shift from an automatic to a more cortical postural control strategy, which goes along with deteriorations in postural stability. Although balance training has been shown to effectively counteract these behavioral deteriorations, little is known about the effect of balance training on brain activity during postural tasks in older adults. We, therefore, assessed...

Université de Fribourg

Behavioral and neural adaptations in response to five weeks of balance training in older adults: a randomized controlled trial

Ruffieux, Jan ; Mouthon, Audrey ; Keller, Martin ; Wälchli, Michael ; Taube, Wolfgang

In: Journal of Negative Results in BioMedicine, 2017, vol. 16, p. 11

Background: While the positive effect of balance training on age-related impairments in postural stability is well-documented, the neural correlates of such training adaptations in older adults remain poorly understood. This study therefore aimed to shed more light on neural adaptations in response to balance training in older adults.Methods: Postural stability as well as spinal reflex and...

Université de Fribourg

Intracortical inhibition increases during postural task execution in response to balance training

Mouthon, Audrey ; Taube, Wolfgang

In: Neuroscience, 2019, vol. 401, p. 35–42

Intracortical inhibitory modulation seems crucial for an intact motor control and motor learning. However, the influence of long(er) term training on short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) is scarcely investigated. With respect to balance, it was previously shown that with increasing postural task difficulty, SICI decreased but the effect of balance training (BT) is unknown. The...

Université de Fribourg

Neural correlates of maladaptive pain behavior in chronic neck pain - a single case control fMRI study

Beinert, Konstantin ; Mouthon, Audrey ; Keller, Martin ; Mouthon, Michael ; Annoni, Jean-Marie ; Taube, Wolfgang

In: Pain Physician, 2017, vol. 20, no. 1, p. E115–E125

Chronic neck pain patients display functional impairments like decreased range of motion, decreased strength, and reduced sensorimotor function. In patients without structural damage, the reason for the persistence of pain is not well understood. Therefore, it is assumed that in chronic pain states, memory processes play an important role. We have now detected and tested a patient that might...

Université de Fribourg

Task-dependent changes of corticospinal excitability during observation and motor imagery of balance tasks

Mouthon, Audrey ; Ruffieux, Jean ; Wälchli, Michael ; Keller, Martin ; Taube, Wolfgang

In: Neuroscience, 2015, vol. 303, p. 535–543

Non-physical balance training has demonstrated to be efficient to improve postural control in young people. However, little is known about the potential to increase corticospinal excitability by mental simulation in lower leg muscles. Mental simulation of isolated, voluntary contractions of limb muscles increase corticospinal excitability but more automated tasks like walking seem to have no or...