Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Everyone wishes to be agile in their older age. However, for reasons entirely not clear, some people age differently then others and experience different levels of physical disability later in life. Although the structure of the brain is important in determining the health and well-being of individuals as they age, it may be crucial to measure the speed and quality of the signals that are created in the brain and sent to the muscles in the body that help us move. This research study will look at how the main pathway from the brain to the body changes over time in older adults; how this pathway relates to lower limb functioning/agility; and how physical activity levels of individuals affect their brain activity and lower limb functioning/agility. We will be collecting baseline demographics such as age, sex, gender, education, physical activity, cognitive capabilities, diet, smoking history, and life stress. Brain activity will be measured using transcranial magnetic stimulation, a non-invasive device that records the signals sent from the part of the brain responsible for movement to the muscles in the body. Lower limb agility is measured by participants performing bipedal hopping, a lower limb agility task that includes aspects such as strength, balance, and coordination. We will also measure walking and performing a balance test along a pressure-censored walkway. This project is the first of its kind here at Memorial University of Newfoundland and one of the first studies mapping the hidden changes and deficits in the pathway from the brain to the muscles.