TY - GEN
T1 - Virtual reality applications in assessing the effect of anxiety on sensorimotor integration in human postural control
AU - Widdowson, Christopher
AU - Ganhotra, Jatin
AU - Faizal, Mohammed
AU - Wilko, Marissa
AU - Parikh, Saurin
AU - Adhami, Zainulabidin
AU - Hernandez, Manuel E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 IEEE.
PY - 2016/10/13
Y1 - 2016/10/13
N2 - Falls are a leading cause of injury and mortality among adults over the age of 65 years. Given the strong relation between fear of falling and fall risk, identification of the mechanisms that underlie anxiety-related changes in postural control may pave the way to the development of novel therapeutic strategies aimed at reducing fall risk in older adults. First, we review potential mechanisms underlying anxiety-mediated changes in postural control in older adults with and without neurological conditions. We then present a system that allows for the simultaneous recording of neural, physiological, and behavioral data in an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment while implementing sensory and mechanical perturbations to evaluate alterations in sensorimotor integration under conditions with high postural threat. We also discuss applications of VR in minimizing falls in older adults and potential future studies.
AB - Falls are a leading cause of injury and mortality among adults over the age of 65 years. Given the strong relation between fear of falling and fall risk, identification of the mechanisms that underlie anxiety-related changes in postural control may pave the way to the development of novel therapeutic strategies aimed at reducing fall risk in older adults. First, we review potential mechanisms underlying anxiety-mediated changes in postural control in older adults with and without neurological conditions. We then present a system that allows for the simultaneous recording of neural, physiological, and behavioral data in an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment while implementing sensory and mechanical perturbations to evaluate alterations in sensorimotor integration under conditions with high postural threat. We also discuss applications of VR in minimizing falls in older adults and potential future studies.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85009064183&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85009064183&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/EMBC.2016.7590633
DO - 10.1109/EMBC.2016.7590633
M3 - Conference contribution
C2 - 28268274
AN - SCOPUS:85009064183
T3 - Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS
SP - 33
EP - 36
BT - 2016 38th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2016
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 38th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2016
Y2 - 16 August 2016 through 20 August 2016
ER -