scholarly journals Segmental contribution to whole-body angular momentum during stepping in healthy young and old adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémie Begue ◽  
Nicolas Peyrot ◽  
Angélique Lesport ◽  
Nicolas A. Turpin ◽  
Bruno Watier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Sagittal Plane ◽  
Balance Control ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Angular Momenta ◽  
Age Related

AbstractRecent evidence suggests that during volitional stepping older adults control whole-body angular momentum (H) less effectively than younger adults, which may impose a greater challenge for balance control during this task in the elderly. This study investigated the influence of aging on the segment angular momenta and their contributions to H during stepping. Eighteen old and 15 young healthy adults were instructed to perform a series of stepping at two speed conditions: preferred and as fast as possible. Full-body kinematics were recorded to compute angular momenta of the trunk, arms and legs and their contributions to total absolute H on the entire stepping movement. Results indicated that older adults exhibited larger angular momenta of the trunk and legs in the sagittal plane, which contributed to a higher sagittal plane H range during stepping compared to young adults. Results also revealed that older adults had a greater trunk contribution and lower leg contribution to total absolute H in the sagittal plane compared to young adults, even though there was no difference in the other two planes. These results stress that age-related changes in H control during stepping arise as a result of changes in trunk and leg rotational dynamics.

scholarly journals Age-Related Changes of the Anticipatory Postural Adjustments During Gait Initiation Preceded by Vibration of Lower Leg Muscles

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Kimijanová ◽  
Diana Bzdúšková ◽  
Zuzana Hirjaková ◽  
František Hlavačka
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Sagittal Plane ◽  
Balance Control ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Lower Leg ◽  
Anticipatory Postural Adjustments ◽  
The Body ◽  
Gait Initiation ◽  
Leg Muscles ◽  
Age Related

Gait initiation (GI) challenges the balance control system, especially in the elderly. To date, however, there is no consensus about the age effect on the anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs). There is also a lack of research on APAs in older adults after proprioceptive perturbation in the sagittal plane. This study aimed to compare the ability of young and older participants to generate APAs in response to the vibratory-induced perturbation delivered immediately before GI. Twenty-two young and 22 older adults performed a series of GI trials: (1) without previous vibration; (2) preceded by the vibration of triceps surae muscles; and (3) preceded by the vibration of tibialis anterior muscles. The APAs magnitude, velocity, time-to-peak, and duration were extracted from the center of pressure displacement in the sagittal plane. Young participants significantly modified their APAs during GI, whereas older adults did not markedly change their APAs when the body vertical was shifted neither backward nor forward. Significant age-related declines in APAs were observed also regardless of the altered proprioception.The results show that young adults actively responded to the altered proprioception from lower leg muscles and sensitively scaled APAs according to the actual position of the body verticality. Contrary, older adults were unable to adjust their postural responses indicating that the challenging transition from standing to walking probably requires higher reliance on the visual input. The understanding of age-related differences in APAs may help to design training programs for the elderly specifically targeted to improve balance control in different sensory conditions, particularly during gait initiation.

When estimating reachability in space, young children and the elderly are similar

1970 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Gabbard ◽  
Priscila Caçola
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Mental Representation ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Extrapersonal Space ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Reach Space ◽  
Total Accuracy

Abstract: This study examined the age-related ability to mentally represent action in the context of reach estimation via use of motor imagery in children, young adults, and a group of older adults. Participants were instructed to estimate whether randomly presented targets in peripersonal (within actual reach) and extrapersonal (beyond reach) space were within or out of reach of their dominant limb while seated. In regard to total accuracy, results indicated that children and older adults were similar, but scores were significantly lower than those of young adults. Whereas all groups displayed greater error in extrapersonal space, once again children and older adults were similar, but significantly different than young adults. That is, children and older adults displayed greater overestimation responses. Although other factors are discussed, the literature provides a hint that differences are due in part to distinctions in brain structure and functioning. Key Words: Mental representation, motor imagery, action processing. 

When estimating reachability in space, young children and the elderly are similar

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 7-13
Author(s):  
Carl Gabbard ◽  
Priscila Caçola
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Extrapersonal Space ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Reach Space ◽  
Total Accuracy

This study examined the age-related ability to mentally represent action in the context of reach estimation via use of motor imagery in children, young adults, and a group of older adults. Participants were instructed to estimate whether randomly presented targets in peripersonal (within actual reach) and extrapersonal (beyond reach) space were within or out of reach of their dominant limb while seated. In regard to total accuracy, results indicated that children and older adults were similar, but scores were significantly lower than those of young adults. Whereas all groups displayed greater error in extrapersonal space, once again children and older adults were similar, but significantly different than young adults. That is, children and older adults displayed greater overestimation responses. Although other factors are discussed, the literature provides a hint that differences are due in part to distinctions in brain structure and functioning.

scholarly journals Manual stabilization reveals a transient role for balance control during locomotor adaptation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungwoo Park ◽  
James M. Finley
Keyword(s):  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Balance Control ◽  
Dynamic Balance ◽  
Step Length ◽  
Bipedal Walking ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Arm Swing ◽  
Angular Momenta ◽  
After Effect ◽  
Potential Factor

AbstractA fundamental feature of human locomotor control is the need to adapt our walking pattern in response to changes in the environment. For example, when people walk on a split-belt treadmill which has belts that move at different speeds, they adapt to the asymmetric speed constraints by reducing their spatiotemporal asymmetry. Here, we aim to understand the role of stability as a potential factor driving this adaptation process. We recruited 24 healthy, young adults to adapt to walking on a split-belt treadmill while either holding on to a handrail or walking with free arm swing. We measured whole-body angular momentum and step length asymmetry as measures of dynamic balance and spatiotemporal asymmetry, respectively. To understand how changes in intersegmental coordination influenced measures of dynamic balance, we also measured segmental angular momenta and the coefficient of limb cancellation. When participants were initially exposed to the asymmetry in belt speeds, we observed an increase in whole-body angular momentum that was due to both an increase in the momentum of individual limb segments and a reduction in limb cancellation. Holding on to a handrail reduced the perturbation to asymmetry during the early phase of adaptation and resulted in a smaller after-effect during post-adaptation. In addition, the stabilization provided by holding on to a handrail led to reductions in the coupling between angular momentum and asymmetry. These results suggest that regulation of dynamic balance is most important during the initial, transient phase of adaptation to walking on a split-belt treadmill.Summary StatementRegulation of balance exhibits a transient effect on adaptation to imposed asymmetries during bipedal walking. External stabilization attenuates initial deviations in spatiotemporal asymmetry but has no effect on subsequent adaptation.

scholarly journals Theta oscillations show impaired interference detection in the elderly during selective memory retrieval

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina S. Ferreira ◽  
Maria Jesús Maraver ◽  
Simon Hanslmayr ◽  
Bajo Teresa
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Interference Detection ◽  
Interference Signal ◽  
Theta Power ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Induced Forgetting

ABSTRACTSeemingly effortless tasks, such as recognizing faces and retrieving names, become significantly harder as people get older. These age-related difficulties may be partially due to the concurrent activation of related competitors. However, it remains unclear whether older adults struggle with detecting an early interference signal or with suppressing irrelevant competitors once competition is detected. To investigate this question, we used the retrieval practice paradigm, shown to elicit interference, while recording electrophysiological activity in young and older adults. In two experiments, young participants showed the typical Retrieval Induced Forgetting (RIF) effect whereas the elderly did not. Neurally, young adults were more capable to detect interference than the older, as evidenced by an increase in mid-frontal theta power (~4-8Hz). This efficient interference detection allowed young adults to recruit inhibitory mechanisms that overcome competition, as traced by a theta power reduction across retrieval cycles. No such reduction was found for the elderly, indicating that the lack of an early interference detection signal renders older adults unable to recruit memory selection mechanisms, eliminating RIF.AUTHORS NOTEThis research was supported by the doctoral research grants AP2009-2215 to C.S.F and BES-2013-066842 to M.J.M.; by grants PSI2012-33625; PSI2015-65502-C2-1-P from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competiveness, and by the Economic Council of the Andalusian Government P08-HUM-03600-Feder and P12-CTS-2369-Feder to T.B.Declaration of interestThe authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose

scholarly journals Ageing and apoE change DHA homeostasis: relevance to age-related cognitive decline

2013 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Hennebelle ◽  
Mélanie Plourde ◽  
Raphaël Chouinard-Watkins ◽  
Christian-Alexandre Castellano ◽  
Pascale Barberger-Gateau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Physiological Factors ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Cognitive Decline ◽  
The Relationship

Epidemiological studies fairly convincingly suggest that higher intakes of fatty fish and n-3 fatty acids are associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). DHA in plasma is normally positively associated with DHA intake. However, despite being associated with lower fish and DHA intake, unexpectedly, plasma (or brain) DHA is frequently not lower in AD. This review will highlight some metabolic and physiological factors such as ageing and apoE polymorphism that influence DHA homeostasis. Compared with young adults, blood DHA is often slightly but significantly higher in older adults without any age-related cognitive decline. Higher plasma DHA in older adults could be a sign that their fish or DHA intake is higher. However, our supplementation and carbon-13 tracer studies also show that DHA metabolism, e.g. transit through the plasma, apparent retroconversion and β-oxidation, is altered in healthy older compared with healthy young adults. ApoE4 increases the risk of AD, possibly in part because it too changes DHA homeostasis. Therefore, independent of differences in fish intake, changing DHA homeostasis may tend to obscure the relationship between DHA intake and plasma DHA which, in turn, may contribute to making older adults more susceptible to cognitive decline despite older adults having similar or sometimes higher plasma DHA than in younger adults. In conclusion, recent development of new tools such as isotopically labelled DHA to study DHA metabolism in human subjects highlights some promising avenues to evaluate how and why DHA metabolism changes during ageing and AD.

scholarly journals Less Prevalence-induced Concept Change in Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Devine ◽  
Cassandra Neumann ◽  
David Levari ◽  
Robert C Wilson ◽  
Ben Eppinger
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Ethical Decision ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Response Times ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Experimental Approaches ◽  
Concept Change ◽  
Definition Of

Prevalence-induced concept change describes a cognitive mechanism by which someone’s definition of a concept shifts as the prevalence of instances of that concept changes. While this phenomenon has been established in young adults, it is unclear how it affects older adults. In this study, we explore how prevalence-induced concept change affects older adults’ lower-level, perceptual, and higher-order, ethical, decision-making. We find that older adults are less sensitive to prevalence-induced concept change than younger adults across both domains. Using a combination of computational and experimental approaches, we demonstrate that these age-related changes in judgements are driven by differences in response times between young and old adults, reflecting the time-sensitive and motivation-dependent nature of concept change. Overall, we argue that older adults’ concept spaces may be less flexible than younger adults’ in a changing world, which can make the elderly less sensitive to biases in their judgement.

scholarly journals Memory for staged events: Supporting older and younger adults’ memory with SenseCam

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-728
Author(s):  
Ali Mair ◽  
Marie Poirier ◽  
Martin A Conway
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Wearable Camera ◽  
Age Related

Two experiments measured the effect of retrieval support provided by a wearable camera, SenseCam, on older and younger adults’ memory for a recently experienced complex staged event. In each experiment, participants completed a series of tasks in groups, and the events were recalled 2 weeks later, after viewing SenseCam images (experimental condition) or thinking about the event (control condition). When IQ and education were matched, young adults recalled more event details than older adults, demonstrating an age-related deficit for novel autobiographical material. Reviewing SenseCam images increased the number of details recalled by older and younger adults, and the effect was similar for both groups. These results suggest that memory can be supported by the use of SenseCam, but the age-related deficit is not eliminated.

Age-Related Effects in Consistent Memory Search: Performance is the Same but What about Learning?

1992 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-150
Author(s):  
Brian P. Cooper ◽  
Mark D. Lee ◽  
Robert E. Goska ◽  
Marjo M. Anderson ◽  
Paul E. Gay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Performance Improvement ◽  
Memory Search ◽  
Search Performance ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Older Subjects ◽  
Young Subjects

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the mechanisms which underlie the learning in consistently mapped (CM) memory search. In Experiment 1, old and young adults were trained in both CM and variably mapped (VM) category search. The training results replicate previous findings by Fisk and Rogers (1991). Even though older adults are initially at a disadvantage relative to young adults, the comparison times of young and old adults are near zero after CM training. For VM, older adults remain at a disadvantage relative to younger adults, even after extensive training. A full reversal manipulation was implemented in Experiment 2 to investigate the learning in memory search. Initially, the young subjects were less affected by the full reversal condition compared to the performance of the older adults. However, older subjects quickly recovered and both young and old were performing at trained CM levels within 60 trials of additional practice. These results suggest: (a) attention is not being trained in CM memory search; (b) automatic category activation does not contribute much, if at all, to the performance improvement in memory search; and (c) age-invariant learning mechanisms account for performance improvement in CM memory search.

scholarly journals Aging, Empathy, and Prosocial Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 742-743
Author(s):  
Isu Cho ◽  
Ryan Daley ◽  
Tony Cunningham ◽  
Elizabeth Kensinger ◽  
Angela Gutchess
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Prosocial Behaviors ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Related Stress ◽  
Health Complications ◽  
Meaningful Relationships ◽  
Dispositional Empathy

Abstract Previous literature has shown age-related increases in prosociality (i.e., the tendency to engage in behaviors that benefit others). Can such age-related differences be observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, or would young adults’ higher levels of COVID-19-related stress alter the relation between age and prosociality given the prior findings that stress may promote prosocial behaviors? Can empathy, one of the factors highly related to prosociality, explain any observed age-related differences? The current study examined the above questions, as well as whether age differences exist in target of prosocial behaviors (i.e., distant- versus close-others). To this end, participants (aged 18-89) enrolled in an ongoing study examining their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were asked to complete a series of surveys on dispositional empathy and prosocial behaviors during the pandemic. In the present analyses, the data were used from 330 participants from the USA who completed all of the surveys. Compared to younger adults, results indicate that older adults showed greater prosocial behaviors during the pandemic despite their higher risk of physical-health complications from COVID-19. Unexpectedly, empathy did not explain such age-related increases in prosocial behaviors even though it was positively related to individuals’ prosociality. Interestingly, older adults reported increased prosocial behaviors towards close-others (i.e., family, friends) compared to young adults, suggesting that older adults seem to devote more resources into emotionally meaningful relationships. The current study contributes to our understanding of how prosociality differs with age during the stressful period of need that marks the COVID-19 pandemic.

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