Effects of Ritalin on Postural Stability of Old Adults
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2012-06-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Experimental design overview The proposed project is a prospective experimental study design.
independent old adults(age 65 years old and older) who do not suffer from balance problems
willing to participate in the study will be tested with well-established measuring techniques
of Balance control before and 2 hours after taking of Methylphenidate (Ritalin) in the
movement and Rehabilitation Laboratory at BGU. An automated algorithm will be used to extract
standardized stabilogram-diffusion parameters from each of the COP data sets collected during
quiet standing. These parameters include diffusion coefficients, critical displacement,
critical time and scaling exponents for both lateral and anterior-posterior sway directions
(Collins & De Luca, 1993). For each of the conditions (before and 1 hour after the use of
Ritalin) in three task conditions single task; dual task (concentrating and identifying
specific music); and just Listening to a relaxing music. Participants will be required to
stand on the platform 10 times for 30 s. For each trial, they will be instructed to sway as
little as possible.