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Normal aging affects unconstrained three-dimensional reaching against gravity with reduced vertical precision and increased co-contraction: a pilot study

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Abstract

Reaching for an object in space forms the basis for many activities of daily living and is important in rehabilitation after stroke and in other neurological and orthopedic conditions. It has been the object of motor control and neuroscience research for over a century, but studies often constrain movement to eliminate the effect of gravity or reduce the degrees of freedom. In some studies, aging has been shown to reduce target accuracy, with a mechanism suggested to be impaired corrective movements. We sought to explore how such changes in accuracy relate to changes in finger, shoulder and elbow movements during performance of reaching movements with the normal effects of gravity, unconstrained hand movement, and stable target locations. Three-dimensional kinematic data and electromyography were collected in 14 young (25 ± 6 years) and 10 older adults (68 ± 3 years) during second-long reaches to 3 targets aligned vertically in front of the participants. Older adults took longer to initiate a movement than the young adults and were more variable and inaccurate in their initial and final movements. Target height had greater effect on trajectory curvature variability in older than young adults, with angle variability relative to target position being greater in older adults around the time of peak speed. There were significant age-related differences in use of the multiple degrees of freedom of the upper extremity, with less variability in shoulder abduction in the older group. Muscle activation patterns were similar, except for a higher biceps-triceps co-contraction and tonic levels of some proximal muscle activation. These results show an age-related deficit in the motor planning and online correction of reaching movements against a predictable force (i.e., gravity) when it is not compensated by mechanical support.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Once published, data may be available in the Database for Reaching Experiments And Models (DREAM) https://crcns.org/data-sets/movements/dream.

Abbreviations

PEC:

Pectoralis superior

TRP:

Trapezius pars descendens

DLA:

Anterior deltoid

DLM:

Medial deltoid

DLP:

Posterior deltoid

BIC:

Biceps brachii

TRI:

Triceps long head

FCU:

Flexor carpi ulnaris

EDC:

Extensor digitorum communis

TMS:

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

EMG:

Electromyography

UT:

Upper target

MT:

Middle target

LT:

Lower target

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Funding

This work was supported by USPHS Grant R01 HD061462 and an internal KU Leuven Senior Fellowship Award to GFW (Research Fund KU Leuven, SF/12/005). MPB was supported by the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO). SPS was supported by Research Foundation—Flanders (G.0708.14N) and Research Fund KU Leuven (C16/15/070).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Maryland Exercise & Robotics Center of Excellence, Geriatrics Research Educational and Clinical Center, Department of Veterans Affairs, Baltimore, MD, USA

    George F. Wittenberg & Jing Tian

  2. Laboratory for Research on Arm Function and Therapy, Departments of Neurology, Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, and Medicine, Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Older Americans Independence Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA

    George F. Wittenberg & Jing Tian

  3. Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Biomedical Sciences Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    George F. Wittenberg, Nick Kortzorg, Lore Wyers, Florian Van Halewyck, Matthieu P. Boisgontier, Oron Levin & Stephan P. Swinnen

  4. Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 811 Kaufmann Medical Building, 3471 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213-3232, USA

    George F. Wittenberg

  5. School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

    Matthieu P. Boisgontier

  6. Bruyere Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada

    Matthieu P. Boisgontier

  7. Leuven Research Institute for Neuroscience and Disease (LIND), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Stephan P. Swinnen

  8. Human Movement Biomechanics Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Biomedical Sciences Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Ilse Jonkers

Authors
  1. George F. Wittenberg
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  2. Jing Tian
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  3. Nick Kortzorg
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  4. Lore Wyers
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  5. Florian Van Halewyck
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  6. Matthieu P. Boisgontier
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  7. Oron Levin
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  8. Stephan P. Swinnen
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  9. Ilse Jonkers
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Contributions

Experimental conception and design: GFW, IJ, SPS, OL. Experimental conduct: GFW, NK, LW, FVH, MPB. Data analysis: JT, OL, NK, LW, GFW. Manuscript preparation: GFW, JT. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to George F. Wittenberg.

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Wittenberg, G.F., Tian, J., Kortzorg, N. et al. Normal aging affects unconstrained three-dimensional reaching against gravity with reduced vertical precision and increased co-contraction: a pilot study. Exp Brain Res 240, 1029–1044 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-021-06280-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-021-06280-9

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