Does Motor Imagery Training Enhance Control of Movement in Older Adults?

NCT05669131 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: MIT&ForceSteadiness
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is learn about motor imagery training (i.e. imagining a task) with healthy older adults. The main question this clinical trial aims to answer is:

• Will imagining a task improve control of force during an elbow flexion muscle contraction in healthy older adults? Participants will:
• Complete questionaries about general activity levels and ability to imagine tasks
• Perform either motor imagery training or watch a documentary
• Perform maximal and submaximal elbow flexion contractions Researchers will compare the motor imagery training with the control group to see if control of force is improved in the motor imagery training group.

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

Aged; Aged, 80 and over

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Force steadiness

  Measured as the the coefficient in variation of force

  Within one session: Change from baseline (immediately before session) to 20 minutes after the session

• Corticospinal excitability

  Measured as the peak-to-peak amplitude of a motor evoked potential

  Within one session: Change from baseline (immediately before session) to 20 minutes after the session

• Common synaptic input

  Estimated from motor unit discharge times.

  Within one session: Change from baseline (immediately before session) to 20 minutes after the session

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Maximal elbow flexion force

  Within one session: Change from baseline (immediately before session) to 20 minutes after the session

Study Arms (2)

Motor Imagery Training

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will do motor imagery training in 5 minute blocks for a total of 20 minutes.

Other: Motor imagery training

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Participants will watch a documentary in 5 minute blocks for a total of 20 minutes.

Interventions

Motor imagery training OTHER

Participants imagine themselves through their own eyes performing submaximal elbow flexion contractions.

Motor Imagery Training

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 65 Years - 90 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Healthy older adults aged 65 to 90 years old

You may not qualify if:

• have had an injury or orthopaedic surgery to the arm or shoulder in the prior 6 months
• are involved in high levels of upper-body strength training
• have history of training in fine motor tasks (i.e., musicians)
• have a history of MIT
• have systemic diseases and/or nerve damage affecting neuromuscular function
• have severe cognitive impairment
• are unable to read or speak English fluently
• are left hand dominant

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of British Columbia: lead

Study Officials

• Jennifer Jakobi, PhD

  University of British Columbia- Okanagan

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Jennifer Jakobi, PhD

CONTACT

250-807-9884; jennifer.jakobi@ubc.ca

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Model Details: Participants will be randomly assigned to either the motor imagery training group or the control group.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 29, 2022
• First Posted: December 30, 2022
• Study Start: December 1, 2022
• Primary Completion: August 1, 2023
• Study Completion: August 1, 2023
• Last Updated: December 30, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-12