@article{ref1,
title="The temporal precision of audiovisual integration is associated with longitudinal fall incidents but not sensorimotor fall risk in older adults",
journal="Scientific reports",
year="2023",
author="O'Dowd, Alan and Hirst, Rebecca J. and Setti, Annalisa and Donoghue, Orna A. and Kenny, Rose Anne and Newell, Fiona N.",
volume="13",
number="1",
pages="e7167-e7167",
abstract="Sustained multisensory integration over long inter-stimulus time delays is typically found in older adults, particularly those with a history of falls. However, the extent to which the temporal precision of audio-visual integration is associated with longitudinal fall or fall risk trajectories is unknown. A large sample of older adults (N = 2319) were grouped into longitudinal trajectories of self-reported fall incidents (i.e., decrease, stable, or increase in number) and, separately, their performance on a standard, objective measure of fall risk, Timed Up and Go (TUG; stable, moderate decline, severe decline). Multisensory integration was measured once as susceptibility to the Sound-Induced Flash Illusion (SIFI) across three stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs): 70 ms, 150 ms and 230 ms. Older adults with an increasing fall number showed a significantly different pattern of performance on the SIFI than non-fallers, depending on age: For adults with increasing incidents of falls, those aged 53-59 years showed a much smaller difference in illusion susceptibility at 70 ms versus 150 ms than those aged 70 + years. In contrast, non-fallers showed a more comparable difference between these SOA conditions across age groups. There was no association between TUG performance trajectories and SIFI susceptibility. These findings suggests that a fall event is associated with distinct temporal patterns of multisensory integration in ageing and have implications for our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning brain health in older age.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2045-2322",
doi="10.1038/s41598-023-32404-y",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32404-y"
}