TY  - JOUR
A1  - Beijersbergen, Chantal M. I.
A1  - Hortobagyi, Tibor
A1  - Beurskens, Rainer
A1  - Lenzen-Grossimlinghaus, Romana
A1  - Gabler, Martijn
A1  - Granacher, Urs
T1  - Effects of Power Training on Mobility and Gait Biomechanics in Old Adults with Moderate Mobility Disability: Protocol and Design of the Potsdam Gait Study (POGS)
JF  - Gerontology
N2  - Background: Walking speed decreases in old age. Even though old adults regularly participate in exercise interventions, we do not know how the intervention-induced changes in physical abilities produce faster walking. The Potsdam Gait Study (POGS) will examine the effects of 10 weeks of power training and detraining on leg muscle power and, for the first time, on complete gait biomechanics, including joint kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activation in old adults with moderate mobility disability. Methods/Design: POGS is a randomized controlled trial with two arms, each crossed over, without blinding. Arm 1 starts with a 10-week control period to assess the reliability of the tests and is then crossed over to complete 25-30 training sessions over 10 weeks. Arm 2 completes 25-30 exercise sessions over 10 weeks, followed by a 10-week follow-up (detraining) period. The exercise program is designed to improve lower extremity muscle power. Main outcome measures are: muscle power, gait speed, and gait biomechanics measured at baseline and after 10 weeks of training and 10 weeks of detraining. Discussion: It is expected that power training will increase leg muscle power measured by the weight lifted and by dynamometry, and these increased abilities become expressed in joint powers measured during gait. Such favorably modified powers will underlie the increase in step length, leading ultimately to a faster walking speed. POGS will increase our basic understanding of the biomechanical mechanisms of how power training improves gait speed in old adults with moderate levels of mobility disabilities. (C) 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel
KW  - Aging
KW  - Walking speed
KW  - Exercise
KW  - Muscle power
KW  - Gait kinematics
KW  - Gait kinetics
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1159/000444752
SN  - 0304-324X
SN  - 1423-0003
VL  - 62
SP  - 597
EP  - 603
PB  - Karger
CY  - Basel
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Beurskens, Rainer
A1  - Helmich, Ingo
A1  - Rein, Robert
A1  - Bock, Otmar L.
T1  - Age-related changes in prefrontal activity during walking in dual-task situations: A fNIRS study
JF  - International journal of psychophysiology
N2  - Background: Previous studies suggest that the human gait is under control of higher-order cognitive processes, located in the frontal lobes, such that an age-related degradation of cognitive capabilities has a negative impact on gait.
 Results: Our behavioral data partly confirm previous accounts on higher dual-task costs in stepping parameters (i.e., decreased step duration) in old age, particularly with a visual task and negative dual-task cost (i.e., improved performance) during the verbal task in young adults. Functional imaging data revealed little change of prefrontal activation from single- to dual-task walking in young individuals. In the elderly, however, prefrontal activation substantially decreased during dual-task walking with a complex visual task.
 Conclusion: We interpret these findings as evidence for a shift of processing resources from the prefrontal cortex to other brain regions when seniors face the challenge of walking and concurrently executing a visually demanding task. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
KW  - fNIRS
KW  - Aging
KW  - Locomotion
KW  - Neural activation
KW  - Executive function
KW  - Dual-task walking
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2014.03.005
SN  - 0167-8760
SN  - 1872-7697
VL  - 92
IS  - 3
SP  - 122
EP  - 128
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  -