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Effects of manipulated auditory information on local dynamic gait stability
Daniel Hamacher1, Franziska Schley1, Karsten Hollander2
1Institute of Sport Science, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Seidelstraße 20, 07749 Jena, Germany.
Abstract:
Auditory information affects sensorimotor control of gait. Noise or active noise cancelling alters the perception of movement related sounds and, probably, gait stability. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effects of noise cancelling on gait stability. Twenty-five healthy older subjects (70 ± 6 years) were included into a randomized cross-over study. Gait stability (largest Lyapunov exponent) in normal overground walking was determined for the following hearing conditions: no manipulation and active noise cancelling. To assess differences between the two hearing conditions (no manipulation vs. active noise cancelling), Student's repeated measures t-test was used. The results indicate an improvement of gait stability when using active noise cancelling compared to normal hearing. In conclusion, our results indicate that auditory information might not be needed for a stable gait in elderly.
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