Neural Responses for Rehabilitation of the Elderly: Evidence from the Micro, Meso to Macro Scale

As more new assessment and intervention techniques are developed and updated in rehabilitation therapy and medicine in this new millennium, more evidence-based literature is needed for researchers and clinicians to understand the potential mechanisms of these techniques in clinical practice, including 1) brain area response in terms of neuronal activity, gray and white matter changes, neuronal connectivity, and tissue oxygenation; 2) biomarkers and their relationships to inflammation, oxidation, and neuronal growth responses to various rehabilitation interventions; 3) neural pathways linking peripheral nerve deficits to the central nervous system and vice versa; and 4) how variables such as age and gender may play a role in the nervous system in response to the same or similar interventions. Nervous system responses to various neurological disorders and rehabilitation interventions can be studied in a variety of ways, including the use of various imaging techniques, neural electrophysiology, and the examination of biological samples. Imaging techniques include computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR). The electrophysiological techniques include EEG and EMG, while the biological samples can be used to evaluate and analyze biomarkers obtained from various human fluids such as blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, saliva, tear or nasal secretions, or even muscle biopsy tissue from a muscle.

This Research Topic aims to discuss innovative and multidisciplinary technologies and methods such as electrophysiology, robotics, exercise training, artificial intelligence applications and virtual reality based training and their potential applications for rehabilitation management, clinical optimization and validation (e.g. clinical trials) in the rehabilitation of the elderly. The topic will advance knowledge of brain function, repair mechanisms, and therapeutic or rehabilitative interventions across multiple continua to promote recovery, using both animal and human studies as the basis for designing research and practice. Studies of diagnosis, rehabilitative treatments, quantitative assessments, and distributed management are welcome. We are interested in Original Research, Systematic Review, Review, Hypothesis and Theory, Perspective, Clinical Trial, Brief Research Report, Opinion, Study Protocol on the following aspects related to rehabilitation of the elderly, and animal studies need to indicate application to humans:
- Neurostimulation, including to central and peripheral systems and non-invasive stimulations, e.g., TMS, tDCS, TUS for rehabilitation in elderly people;
- Neural signal processing;
- Quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of rehabilitation;
- Neurorehabilitation based on VR;
- Robotic systems;
- Movement training in rehabilitation.