While older people most often fall because of a slip, trip or loss of balance, up to 25% of falls remain unexplained (Anpalahan & Gibson, 2012; Davies & Kenny, 1996; Lord et al., 1993). People who have had unexplained falls report having fallen because of a blackout, dizziness, feeling faint or “having […]
Associate Professor Janet Taylor studies the mechanisms that cause people to feel fatigued after exercise. In this video she discusses the different components of fatigue and the clinical relevance of understanding these mechanisms.
Muscle strength and other measures of physical function decline with age (e.g., Kenny et al. 2013). To overcome these age-related decrements in physical function, physical exercise is recommended (e.g. American College of Sports Medicine 2009; Australian Government Department of Health 2005). Two types of exercise that improve physical function in older adults […]
Perhaps when you were a child, you stood in front of a mirror and flexed your elbow to see how big your muscles were (perhaps you have done this recently?). The harder you contract your muscle, the bigger it looks. But of course the muscle doesn’t actually get bigger, it […]
Inspiratory muscle motoneurone pools are linked via many reflex connections. These reflexes are largely inhibitory and can operate over several segments. Much of our knowledge of these reflex connections comes from studies in animals (Marlot et al. 1988, Speck & Revelette. 1987). In humans, we know that stimulation of the phrenic nerve […]
The term ‘sarcopenia’ comes from ‘sarco-’, the Greek word for ‘flesh’ (muscle), and ‘-penia’ which denotes ‘deficiency’. The original definition reflected this as ‘the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass that accompanies ageing (0.5–1% loss per year after the age of 25)’ (Cruz-Jentoft et al., 2010). However over time, the […]
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a popular method among neuroscientists to study brain function, because it enables selective activation of certain areas of the brain with a magnetic coil. However, results from TMS studies published in the scientific literature can often not be reproduced. NeuRA’s Dr Martin Héroux talks about findings […]
Proprioception, our ‘sixth sense’, underlies our innate ability to localise our body parts in space and to know the forces, angles and movements at our joints (Proske & Gandevia, 2012). This ‘sense’ allows us to interact with our environment. For example, reaching for a cup of water requires knowledge of the exact spatial […]
The ability to activate and maintain muscle activation during movement is the one of the many jobs of the central nervous system and a break-down within this system results in motor impairment. A common acute motor impairment from exercise is fatigue which can be described as a reduction in the […]
Professor Rob Herbert at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) performs research into contractures – the stiffening of joints that often occurs after neurological lesions such as stroke, cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis. In this video he talks about the cutting-edge techniques like ultrasound and diffusion tensor imaging that he and people […]
