Perspectives on aging vestibular function
Much is known about age related anatomical changes in the vestibular system. Knowledge regarding how vestibular anatomical changes impact behavior for older adults continues to grow, in line with advancements in diagnostic testing. However, despite advancements in clinical diagnostics, much remain...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2016-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neurology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fneur.2015.00269/full |
| _version_ | 1819142376994635776 |
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| author | Eric eAnson John eJeka John eJeka |
| author_facet | Eric eAnson John eJeka John eJeka |
| author_sort | Eric eAnson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Much is known about age related anatomical changes in the vestibular system. Knowledge regarding how vestibular anatomical changes impact behavior for older adults continues to grow, in line with advancements in diagnostic testing. However, despite advancements in clinical diagnostics, much remains unknown about the functional impact that an aging vestibular system has on daily life activities like standing and walking. Modern diagnostic tests are very good at characterizing neural activity of the isolated vestibular system, but the tests themselves are artificial and do not reflect the multi-sensory aspects of natural human behavior. Also, the majority of clinical diagnostic tests are passively applied because active behavior can enhance performance. In this perspective paper we review anatomical and behavioral changes associated with an aging vestibular system and highlight several areas where a more functionally relevant perspective can be taken. For postural control, a multi-sensory perturbation approach could be used to bring balance rehabilitation into the arena of precision medicine. For walking and complex gaze stability, this may result in less physiologically specific impairments, but the trade-off would be a greater understanding of how the aging vestibular system truly impacts the daily life of older adults. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T12:09:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6ac48daf513d4888975051d8616a9878 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-2295 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T12:09:22Z |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Neurology |
| spelling | doaj.art-6ac48daf513d4888975051d8616a98782022-12-21T18:26:19ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurology1664-22952016-01-01610.3389/fneur.2015.00269175179Perspectives on aging vestibular functionEric eAnson0John eJeka1John eJeka2Johns Hopkins School of MedicineTemple UniversityTemple UniversityMuch is known about age related anatomical changes in the vestibular system. Knowledge regarding how vestibular anatomical changes impact behavior for older adults continues to grow, in line with advancements in diagnostic testing. However, despite advancements in clinical diagnostics, much remains unknown about the functional impact that an aging vestibular system has on daily life activities like standing and walking. Modern diagnostic tests are very good at characterizing neural activity of the isolated vestibular system, but the tests themselves are artificial and do not reflect the multi-sensory aspects of natural human behavior. Also, the majority of clinical diagnostic tests are passively applied because active behavior can enhance performance. In this perspective paper we review anatomical and behavioral changes associated with an aging vestibular system and highlight several areas where a more functionally relevant perspective can be taken. For postural control, a multi-sensory perturbation approach could be used to bring balance rehabilitation into the arena of precision medicine. For walking and complex gaze stability, this may result in less physiologically specific impairments, but the trade-off would be a greater understanding of how the aging vestibular system truly impacts the daily life of older adults.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fneur.2015.00269/fullAgingWalkingbalancevestibularfunctional testingvor |
| spellingShingle | Eric eAnson John eJeka John eJeka Perspectives on aging vestibular function Frontiers in Neurology Aging Walking balance vestibular functional testing vor |
| title | Perspectives on aging vestibular function |
| title_full | Perspectives on aging vestibular function |
| title_fullStr | Perspectives on aging vestibular function |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perspectives on aging vestibular function |
| title_short | Perspectives on aging vestibular function |
| title_sort | perspectives on aging vestibular function |
| topic | Aging Walking balance vestibular functional testing vor |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fneur.2015.00269/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ericeanson perspectivesonagingvestibularfunction AT johnejeka perspectivesonagingvestibularfunction AT johnejeka perspectivesonagingvestibularfunction |