Université de Fribourg

Training‐, muscle‐ and task‐specific up‐ and downregulation of cortical inhibitory processes

Taube, Wolfgang ; Gollhofer, Albert ; Lauber, Benedikt

In: European Journal of Neuroscience, 2020, vol. 51, no. 6, p. 1428–1440

Motor cortical contribution was shown to be important for balance control and for ballistic types of movements. However, little is known about the role of cortical inhibitory mechanisms and even less about long(er)‐term adaptations of these inhibitory processes. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the role of intracortical inhibition before and after four weeks of ...

Université de Fribourg

Lower between-limb asymmetry during running on treadmill compared to overground in subjects with laterally pronounced knee osteoarthritis

Robadey, Jacques ; Staudenmann, Didier ; Schween, Raphael ; Gehring, Dominic ; Gollhofer, Albert ; Taube, Wolfgang

In: PLOS ONE, 2018, vol. 13, no. 10, p. e0205191

Subjects with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) show gait asymmetries evidenced by lower knee flexion and shorter contact times for the affected leg. Interestingly, running on a treadmill compared to running overground is also associated with lower knee flexion and shorter contact times. Thus, it is of particular interest how gait patterns are influenced by the type of ground in subjects with KOA....

Université de Fribourg

Age-related differences in corticospinal excitability during observation and motor imagery of balance tasks

Mouthon, Audrey A. ; Ruffieux, Jan ; Keller, Martin ; Taube, Wolfgang

In: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 2016, vol. 8, p. -

Postural control declines across adult lifespan. Non-physical balance training has been suggested as an alternative to improve postural control in frail/immobilized elderly people. Previous studies showed that this kind of training can improve balance control in young and older adults. However, it is unclear whether the brain of young and older adults is activated differently during mental...

Université de Fribourg

Postural challenge affects motor cortical activity in young and old adults

Papegaaij, Selma ; Taube, Wolfgang ; Keeken, Helco G. van ; Otten, Egbert ; Baudry, Stéphane ; Hortobágyi, Tibor

In: Experimental Gerontology, 2016, vol. 73, p. 78–85

When humans voluntarily activate a muscle, intracortical inhibition decreases. Such a decrease also occurs in the presence of a postural challenge and more so with increasing age. Here, we examined age-related changes in motor cortical activity during postural and non-postural contractions with varying levels of postural challenge. Fourteen young (age 22) and twelve old adults (age 70) performed...

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...

Université de Fribourg

Brachialis muscle activity can be assessed with surface electromyography

Staudenmann, Didier ; Taube, Wolfgang

In: Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 2015, vol. 25, no. 2, p. 199–204

The brachialis muscle (BR) represents an important elbow flexor and its activity has so far mainly been measured with intramuscular electromyography (EMG). The aim of this study was to examine whether the activity of the BR can be assessed with surface EMG without interference from the biceps brachii (BB). With eight subjects we measured surface EMG of the arm flexor synergists, BR, BB, and...

Université de Fribourg

Time to task failure and motor cortical activity depend on the type of feedback in visuomotor tasks

Lauber, Benedikt ; Leukel, Christian ; Gollhofer, Albert ; Taube, Wolfgang

In: PLoS ONE, 2012, vol. 7, no. 3, p. e32433

The present study aimed to elucidate whether the type of feedback influences the performance and the motor cortical activity when executing identical visuomotor tasks. For this purpose, time to task failure was measured during position- and force-controlled muscular contractions. Subjects received either visual feedback about the force produced by pressing a force transducer or about the actual...

Université de Fribourg

The effect of whole body vibration on the H-reflex, the stretch reflex, and the short-latency response during hopping

Ritzmann, R. ; Kramer, A. ; Gollhofer, Albert ; Taube, Wolfgang

In: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2011, p. -

The effect of whole body vibration (WBV) on reflex responses is controversially discussed in the literature. In this study, three different modalities of reflex activation with increased motor complexity have been selected to clarify the effects of acute WBV on reflex activation: (1) the electrically evoked H-reflex, (2) the mechanically elicited stretch reflex, and (3) the short-latency...