Neural Substrates Underlying Adaptations in Manual Dexterity of Older Adults
1 other identifier
interventional
72
1 country
1
Brief Summary
Age-related declines in motor function can compromise independence and quality of life. This project examines how practice and somatosensory stimulation reshape the neural control of hand muscles in older adults, leveraging neuroplasticity to enhance dexterity. By identifying modifiable neural mechanisms that underlie improved motor performance, this research lays the groundwork for targeted, non-invasive interventions that can be translated into clinical and community settings to support healthy aging and functional independence.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable
Started Apr 2026
Longer than P75 for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
May 30, 2025
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
June 8, 2025
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
April 1, 2026
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
March 30, 2030
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
March 30, 2030
June 8, 2025
May 1, 2025
4 years
May 30, 2025
May 30, 2025
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (3)
Grooved Pegboard Test
Time taken to insert 25 keyhole-shaped pegs into matching holes on the pegboard.
From enrollment until the end of the study at 2 weeks.
Force steadiness
Coefficient of variation for force during low-intensity isometric contractions.
From enrollment until the end of the study at 2 weeks.
Motor unit modes
The subsets of motor units in hand-forearm muscles that exhibit correlated modulation of discharge rate during low-intensity isometric contractions. The motor unit activity will be identified from high-density surface electromyography with grid electrodes.
From enrollment until study completion at 2 weeks.
Study Arms (2)
Pegboard time
EXPERIMENTALParticipants will be assigned to a group of slow or fast improvers based on the decrease in pegboard time after an initial familiarization session.
Force-steadiness practice
EXPERIMENTALParticipants will complete three training sessions in which they perform force-steadiness tasks either alone (sham) or paired with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). One-half of the participants in each improver group will be to each of these practice groups.
Interventions
Force-steadiness training will be performance either without (sham) or paired with TENS.
Participants will perform 25 trials of the Grooved Pegboard Test
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Community-dwelling men and women who are 54-89 years of age and able to give fully informed consent; able to read, write, and speak English to ensure safe participation in the project; and able to arrange own transportation to Boulder campus.
You may not qualify if:
- Cognitive impairment, major psychiatric condition, or unstable depressive disorder that would influence the ability to understand the study and cooperate fully in the proposed protocols; any progressive neurological, muscular, cardiovascular, or skeletal disorder that limits participation, such as (but not limited to) (1) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, multiple system atrophy, muscular dystrophy, myasthenia gravis, Parkinson's disease, spinal muscular atrophy, spinocerebellar ataxia, or spasticity; (2) congenital, mitochondrial, or thyrotoxic myopathies, fibromyalgia, or myositis; (3) peripheral neuropathy, diabetes, or hypertension; or (4) cancer, gout, osteoarthritis with severe pain, or rheumatoid arthritis; chronic pain condition that would impair the ability to participate in the study; currently taking prescribed medication known to influence neuromuscular function, such as carisoprodol, cyclobenzaprine, metaxalone, and methocarbamol; function-limiting injury to the hands, arms, shoulders, neck, or legs; recent hospitalization (within the last 3 months) or enforced bedrest/sedentary state; inability to attend the evaluation and practice sessions in 2 weeks.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, Colorado, 80309, United States
Related Publications (3)
Tvrdy T, Henry M, Enoka RM. Influence of the variability in motor unit discharge times and neural drive on force steadiness during submaximal contractions with a hand muscle. J Neurophysiol. 2025 Feb 1;133(2):697-708. doi: 10.1152/jn.00333.2024. Epub 2025 Jan 17.
PMID: 39823197BACKGROUNDDaneshgar S, Tvrdy T, Enoka RM. Explaining the influence of practice on the grooved pegboard times of older adults: role of force steadiness. Exp Brain Res. 2024 Aug;242(8):1971-1982. doi: 10.1007/s00221-024-06878-9. Epub 2024 Jun 25.
PMID: 38916760BACKGROUNDDaneshgar S, Tvrdy T, Enoka RM. Practice-Induced Changes in Manual Dexterity of Older Adults Depend on Initial Pegboard Time. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2023 Nov 1;55(11):2045-2052. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003245. Epub 2023 Jun 27.
PMID: 37379250BACKGROUND
MeSH Terms
Interventions
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Roger M Enoka, PhD
University of Colorado, Boulder
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- DOUBLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Purpose
- BASIC SCIENCE
- Intervention Model
- SEQUENTIAL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- PI
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
May 30, 2025
First Posted
June 8, 2025
Study Start
April 1, 2026
Primary Completion (Estimated)
March 30, 2030
Study Completion (Estimated)
March 30, 2030
Last Updated
June 8, 2025
Record last verified: 2025-05
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share
In this proposed project, the cleaned, item-level spreadsheet data for all variables will be shared openly, along with example quantifications and transformations from initial raw data. Final files used to generate specific analyses to answer the Specific Aims and related results will also be shared. The rationale for sharing only cleaned data is to foster ease of data reuse.