Sounds of Healthy Aging: Assessing Everyday Social and Cognitive Activity from Ecologically Sampled Ambient Audio Data

Abstract The healthy aging model of the World Health Organization (2015) highlights the value of assessing and monitoring everyday activities in understanding health in old age. This symposium includes four studies that used the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR), a portable recording device that periodically collects sound snippets in everyday life, to assess various real-life cognitive activities in the context of healthy aging. The four studies collected over 100,000 sound snippets (30-seconds long) over a few days from young and older adults in the US and Switzerland. Participants’ speech in the sound snippets were transcribed and coded for different cognitive activity information. Specifically, Haas and Kliegel have investigated the “prospective memory paradox” by examining the commonality and differences in utterances about retrospective and prospective memory failure in young and older adults’ everyday conversations. Demiray and colleagues investigated the relation between autobiographical memory functions and conversation types in young and older adults in relation to well-being. Luo and colleagues have identified the compensatory function of real-world contexts in cognitive aging: Their study showed that older adults benefited from talking with their spouse in producing complex grammatical structures. Finally, Polsinelli and colleagues found robust associations between language markers (e.g., prepositions, more numbers) and executive functions, highlighting the potential use of spontaneous speech in predicting cognitive status in healthy older adults. Finally, Prof. Matthew Grilli will serve as a discussant and provide an integrative discussion of the papers, informed by his extensive work on clinical and cognitive neuroscience of memory in relation to real-life contexts.

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Task-Induced Functional Connectivity of Picture Naming in Healthy Aging: The Impacts of Age and Task Complexity

Neurobiology of Language ◽

10.1162/nol_a_00007 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 161-184

Author(s):

Perrine Ferré ◽

Julien Jarret ◽

Simona Maria Brambati ◽

Pierre Bellec ◽

Yves Joanette

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Picture Naming ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Cognitive Activity ◽

Naming Task ◽

Word Production ◽

Task Demand ◽

Age Related ◽

The Brain ◽

And Task

The topological organization of the brain, governed by the capacity of brain regions to synchronize their activity, allows for cost-effective performance during everyday cognitive activity. Functional connectivity is an fMRI method deemed task-specific and demand-dependent. Although the brain undergoes significant changes during healthy aging, conceptual knowledge and word-production accuracy are generally preserved. The exploration of task-induced functional connectivity patterns during active picture naming may thus provide additional information about healthy functional cerebral mechanisms that are specifically adapted to the cognitive activity at hand. The goal of this study is to assess and describe age-related differences in functional connectivity during an overt picture-naming task, as well as to compare age-related differences under complex task demand, defined by lexical frequency. Results suggest both age-specific and task-specific mechanisms. In the context of preserved behavioral performance in a picture-naming task, older adults show a complex array of differences in functional connectivity architecture, including both increases and decreases. In brief, there is increased segregation and specialization of regions that are classically assigned to naming processes. Results also expand on previous word-production studies and suggest that motor regions are particularly subject to age-related differences. This study also provides the first indication that intrinsic task demand, as manipulated by lexical frequency, interacts little with the relationship between age and functional connectivity. Together, these findings confirm the value of task-induced functional connectivity analysis in revealing the brain organization that subserves task performance during healthy aging.

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Physical Activity and Inactivity Impacts on Cognitive and Emotional Functioning in Later Life

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.425 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Patrick D. Gajewski ◽

Michael Falkenstein

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Older Adults ◽

Older People ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Intervention Studies ◽

Cognitive Activity ◽

Well Being ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Brain Physiology ◽

The Impact

Healthy aging is associated with changes in sensory, motor, cognitive, and emotional functions. Such changes depend on various factors. In particular, physical activity not only improves physical and motor but also cognitive and emotional functions. Observational (i.e., associations) and cross-sectional studies generally show a positive effect of regular physical exercise on cognition in older adults. Most longitudinal randomized controlled intervention studies also show positive effects, but the results are inconsistent due to large heterogeneity of methodological setups. Positive changes accompanying physical activity mainly impact executive functions, memory functions, and processing speed. Several factors influence the impact of physical activity on cognition, mainly the type and format of the activity. Strength training and aerobic training yield comparable but also differential benefits, and all should be used in physical activities. Also, a combination of physical activity with cognitive activity appears to enhance its effect on cognition in older age. Hence, such combined training approaches are preferable to homogeneous trainings. Studies of brain physiology changes due to physical activity show general as well as specific effects on certain brain structures and functions, particularly in the frontal cortex and the hippocampus, which are those areas most affected by advanced age. Physical activity also appears to improve cognition in patients with mild cognitive dysfunction and dementia and often ameliorates the disease symptoms. This makes physical training an important intervention for those groups of older people. Apart from cognition, physical activity leads to improvement of emotional functions. Exercise can lead to improvement of psychological well-being in older adults. Most importantly, exercise appears to reduce symptoms of depression in seniors. In future intervention studies it should be clarified who profits most from physical activity. Further, the conditions that influence the cognitive and emotional benefits older people derive from physical activity should be investigated in more detail. Finally, measures of brain activity that can be easily applied should be included as far as possible.

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Longitudinal Changes in Individual BrainAGE in Healthy Aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer’s Disease

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000074 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 235-245 ◽

Cited By ~ 64

Author(s):

Katja Franke ◽

Christian Gaser

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Brain Aging ◽

Elderly Subjects ◽

Additional Increase ◽

Longitudinal Changes ◽

Novel Method ◽

The Brain

We recently proposed a novel method that aggregates the multidimensional aging pattern across the brain to a single value. This method proved to provide stable and reliable estimates of brain aging – even across different scanners. While investigating longitudinal changes in BrainAGE in about 400 elderly subjects, we discovered that patients with Alzheimer’s disease and subjects who had converted to AD within 3 years showed accelerated brain atrophy by +6 years at baseline. An additional increase in BrainAGE accumulated to a score of about +9 years during follow-up. Accelerated brain aging was related to prospective cognitive decline and disease severity. In conclusion, the BrainAGE framework indicates discrepancies in brain aging and could thus serve as an indicator for cognitive functioning in the future.

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Psychophysiological Responses to Stress Related to Anxiety in Healthy Aging

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027/0269-8803/a000221 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 188-197 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Roberta Adorni ◽

Agostino Brugnera ◽

Alessia Gatti ◽

Giorgio A. Tasca ◽

Kaoru Sakatani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthy Aging ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Response Times ◽

Cognitive Resources ◽

Stressful Condition ◽

Healthy Elderly ◽

Situational Stress ◽

Anxiety Response ◽

Nirs Signal ◽

Psychophysiological Correlates

Abstract. The aim of the study was to explore the effects of situational stress and anxiety in a group of healthy elderly, both in terms of psychophysiological correlates and cognitive performance. Eighteen participants ( Mage = 70 ± 6.3; range 60–85) were assessed for anxiety and were instructed to perform a computerized math task, under both a stressful and a control condition, while near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) signal and electrocardiography (ECG) were recorded. NIRS results evidenced an increased activation of right PFC during the entire procedure, even if effect sizes between left and right channels were larger during the experimental condition. The amount of right activation during the stressful condition was positively correlated with anxiety. Response times (RTs) were slower in more anxious than in less anxious individuals, both during the control and stressful conditions. Accuracy was lower in more anxious than in less anxious individuals, only during the stressful condition. Moreover, heart rate (HR) was not modulated by situational stress, nor by anxiety. Overall, the present study suggests that in healthy elderly, anxiety level has a significant impact on cerebral responses, and both on the amount of cognitive resources and the quality of performance in stressful situations.

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Prospective Memory Development Across the Lifespan

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040/a000380 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 162-173 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sascha Zuber ◽

Matthias Kliegel

Keyword(s):

Prospective Memory ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Present Model ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Well Being ◽

The Elderly ◽

Cognitive Factors ◽

Everyday Functioning ◽

Integrative Framework

Abstract. Prospective Memory (PM; i.e., the ability to remember to perform planned tasks) represents a key proxy of healthy aging, as it relates to older adults’ everyday functioning, autonomy, and personal well-being. The current review illustrates how PM performance develops across the lifespan and how multiple cognitive and non-cognitive factors influence this trajectory. Further, a new, integrative framework is presented, detailing how those processes interplay in retrieving and executing delayed intentions. Specifically, while most previous models have focused on memory processes, the present model focuses on the role of executive functioning in PM and its development across the lifespan. Finally, a practical outlook is presented, suggesting how the current knowledge can be applied in geriatrics and geropsychology to promote healthy aging by maintaining prospective abilities in the elderly.

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The Type of Temperament, Mood, and Strategies of Categorization

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000073 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

pp. 227-236 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Agata Wytykowska

Keyword(s):

Information Processing ◽

Negative Mood ◽

Cognitive Activity ◽

Processing Capacity ◽

Affective Value ◽

The Relationship ◽

The Way

In Strelau’s theory of temperament (RTT), there are four types of temperament, differentiated according to low vs. high stimulation processing capacity and to the level of their internal harmonization. The type of temperament is considered harmonized when the constellation of all temperamental traits is internally matched to the need for stimulation, which is related to effectiveness of stimulation processing. In nonharmonized temperamental structure, an internal mismatch is observed which is linked to ineffectiveness of stimulation processing. The three studies presented here investigated the relationship between temperamental structures and the strategies of categorization. Results revealed that subjects with harmonized structures efficiently control the level of stimulation stemming from the cognitive activity, independent of the affective value of situation. The pattern of results attained for subjects with nonharmonized structures was more ambiguous: They were as good as subjects with harmonized structures at adjusting the way of information processing to their stimulation processing capacities, but they also proved to be more responsive to the affective character of stimulation (positive or negative mood).

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