Engagement of cortical resources in balance control is an indicator of fall risk in older adults where people cannot “walk and talk” at the same time. However, there are few direct measures of cortical activity during balance control, and their relationship to balance and other brain functions is unclear. I will show evidence that various electroencephalography (EEG) measures of cortical activity during reactive balance recovery are associated with individual differences across perceptual, cognitive, and motor domains. Specifically, we focus on the N1 evoked response in balance perturbations, as well as beta oscillations prior to and in response to perturbations. Direct measures of cortical activity can stratify healthy young and older individuals without clinically identifiable impairment. Further, relationships between cortical activity and function differ as a function of age, balance ability, and neurological disorders such as stroke and Parkinson’s disease. The intersections across perceptual, cognitive, and motor domains may help identify complex mechanisms underlying balance function. Our findings suggest that direct measures of hierarchical balance control mechanisms could enable development of mechanistic, precision-medicine efforts aimed at fall prevention.

A light lunch will be provided following the seminar. Please RSVP below.