The effect of visual information removal on low-alpha (alpha 1) and high-alpha (alpha 2) brain oscillations during static postural control in women over 50 years of age

Kavianpour, Mohadeseh; Farsi, Ali Reza; Ghayour Najafabadi, Mahboubeh; GharayaghZandi, Hassan

doi:10.48308/mbsp.2026.244351.1328

The effect of visual information removal on low-alpha (alpha 1) and high-alpha (alpha 2) brain oscillations during static postural control in women over 50 years of age

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mohadeseh Kavianpour ¹

Ali Reza Farsi ²

Mahboubeh Ghayour Najafabadi ³

Hassan GharayaghZandi ³

¹ PhD Candidate, Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences in Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

² Department of Cognitive and Behavioural Sciences and Technology in Sport, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

³ Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences in Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.48308/mbsp.2026.244351.1328

Abstract

Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of visual manipulation on alpha waves and balance in women over 50 years of age.

Methods: This quasi-experimental study included 23 women aged over 50 years (59.13±6.75 years). EEG signals were recorded from 24 electrodes during a static balance task. Independent component analysis (ICA) using EEGlab (2023) in MATLAB was applied to remove biological and environmental artifacts. ICA was applied to the data using EEGlab (2023)-based scripts implemented in MATLAB.

Results: The results of mixed ANOVA (4 condition × 2 frequency bands × 24 channels) showed that visual manipulation had a significant effect on the condition × channel and condition × frequency interactions (P<0.05). Furthermore, the results of the dependent t-test indicated that in the eyes‑closed condition, low‑alpha power in the left prefrontal region (F3) decreased compared to baseline. Also, low‑alpha (1) and high‑alpha (2) power showed a significant increase in widespread areas of the cerebral cortex compared to the eyes‑open condition (P<0.05).

Conclusion: It appears that older adults use a strategy of increased cortical activity and cortical inhibition mechanisms to compensate for reduced visual input. Removing vision leads to increased alpha power in widespread cortical areas, indicating sensory reweighting and allocation of more processing resources to balance maintenance.

Keywords

Sensory reweighting

Electroencephalography (EEG)

Postural instability

Somatosensory

Subjects