Monthly Archives: October 2018

Breathing: an automatic process until your 70s?

This entry was posted in Motor Impairment Blog New finding Other and tagged ageing brain breathing COPD sensorimotor cortex sleep apnoea on by

We don’t normally have to think about our breathing and that’s because breathing is handled by a subconscious part of the brain called the medulla. The medulla automatically controls our breathing as well as our heart rate and blood pressure (Del Negro et al. 2018). It sends neural signals to the […]

The ageing foot: how does skin feedback change as we grow old?

This entry was posted in Invited Contributor Motor Impairment Blog New finding Sensation & falls and tagged age balance clearance elderly falls foot gait older adults skin touch trip walking on by

Historically, research on skin’s role in postural stability has focused on the sole of the foot, as this area is in contact with the ground as we stand and move. Special receptors from the sole of the foot provide information about contact pressure and slips of the foot (Kennedy & […]