Peripheral tactile sensory perception of older adults improved using subsensory electrical noise stimulation.
Loss of tactile sensory function is common with aging and can lead to numbness and difficulty with balance and gait. In previous work we found that subsensory electrical noise stimulation (SENS) applied to the tibial nerve improved tactile perception in the soles of the feet of healthy adults. In this work we aimed to determine if SENS remained effective in an older adult population with significant levels of sensory loss. Older adult subjects (N=8, female = 4, aged 65-80) had SENS applied via surface electrodes placed proximally to the medial and lateral malleoli. Vibration perception thresholds (VPTs) were assessed in six conditions, two control conditions (no SENS) and four SENS conditions (zero mean ±15µA, 30µA, 45µA and 60µA SD). VPT was assessed at three sites on the plantar aspect of the foot. Vibration perception was significantly improved in the presence of ±30µA SENS and by 16.2±2.4% (mean ± s.e.m.) when optimised for each subject. The improvement in perception was similar across all VPT test sites.
The MARCS Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: p.breen@westernsydney.edu.au.
Paul P
PP
Breen
Department of Pharmacology & Physiology, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences, Newark, NJ, USA ; Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Biomedical Research Institute & War Related Illness and Injury Study Center, NJ Healthcare System, East Orange, NJ, USA ; Department of Neurology, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; School of Engineering & Informatics, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland. Electronic address: Jorge.Serrador@va.gov.
Jorge M
JM
Serrador
School of Nursing & Midwifery, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland. Electronic address: Caroline.McIntosh@nuigalway.ie.
Claire
C
O'Tuathail
Physiology, School of Medicine, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland. Electronic address: Leo.Quinlan@nuigalway.ie.
Leo R
LR
Quinlan
Podiatry, School of Health Sciences, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland. Electronic address: Claire.OTuathail@nuigalway.ie.
Caroline
C
McIntosh
School of Engineering & Informatics, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland; National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland. Electronic address: Gearoid.OLaighin@nuigalway.ie.
Gearóid
G
ÓLaighin
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000294:innervation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009622:Noise; D013979:Tibial Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D055698:Touch Perception
Ageing; Neural engineering; Neural prosthesis; Noise; Sensory aids; Sensory perception; Stochastic systems