International Journal of Hyperthermia (Jan 2019)

Motor performance is preserved in healthy aged adults following severe whole-body hyperthermia

  • Marius Brazaitis,
  • Henrikas Paulauskas,
  • Nerijus Eimantas,
  • Laura Daniuseviciute,
  • Gintautas Volungevicius,
  • Albertas Skurvydas

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/02656736.2018.1533650
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 36, no. 1
pp. 65 – 74

Abstract

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Healthy aging is associated with a progressive decline in motor performance and thermoregulatory efficiency. Functional consequences of severe whole-body hyperthermia on neurophysiological functions in healthy aged men have not been investigated. To determine whether severe whole-body hyperthermia (increase in rectal temperature of about 2.5 °C) induced by lower-body heating in older men (64–80 years, n = 9) would suppress excitability of reflexes, voluntarily and electrically induced ankle plantar flexor contractile properties were compared with those in young men (19–21 years, n = 11). Though no aging effect on hyperthermia-induced reflex amplitudes was observed, a decrease in maximal H-reflex and V-wave latencies was found to be greater in older than in young men. In older men, lower-body heating was accompanied by a significant increase in twitch and tetani test torque in parallel with a greater decrease in muscle contraction time. There was no temperature-depended aging effect on the voluntary activation and maximal voluntary torque production. Despite delayed and weakened thermoregulation and age-related decline in neuromuscular function, motor performance in whole-body severe hyperthermia is apparently preserved in healthy aging.

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