technology
Researchers
are studying
how
connections
between
different parts
of the brain
help keep us
on our feet.
Ann-Maree
Vallence
interviewed by
Dallas Bastian
A
ustralian researchers are exploring
whether stimulating connections
in the brain will help prevent older
people from falling over.
National Health and Medical Research
Council early-career research fellow Dr
Ann-Maree Vallence, with funding from
the NHMRC, the WA Department of
Health and the Rebecca Cooper Medical
Research Foundation, will use magnetic
brain stimulation to identify and stimulate
weakening structural connections in
the brain.
Vallence says: “A common consequence
of age-related declines in voluntary
movement is a near-fall, which results in
reduced activity and fear of falling, which
in turn increases the likelihood of a major
fall and injury. The outcomes of a major
fall are obvious – loss of independence
and admission to aged care. Improving
voluntary motor control in the ageing
population will have a significantly positive
effect on families and communities.”
She sits down with Aged Care Insite to
discuss the research and its potential to aid
in the reduction of falls.
ACI: What does this technique involve for
the individual?
Minds in the balance
38 agedcareinsite.com.au
AMV: The technique I use for my research
is known as trans-cranial magnetic
stimulation, and that’s a non-invasive
brain stimulation technique. When we have
a volunteer come into the lab, we have a
hand-held device that we place against
the volunteer’s scalp. We hold this device
over the part of the brain that controls
the muscles of the body. The volunteer
will feel two things: a little tap on their
head exactly beneath the location of the
[device], and also a little twitch in the
muscle. That’s because we’re using the
stimulation to activate the brain cells that
control the muscles. Therefore, we activate
the muscle.