scholarly journals Impaired Sensorimotor Processing During Complex Gait Precedes Behavioral Changes in Middle-aged Adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (12) ◽  
pp. 1861-1869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trina Mitchell ◽  
Faryn Starrs ◽  
Jean-Paul Soucy ◽  
Alexander Thiel ◽  
Caroline Paquette
Keyword(s):  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Progressive Failure ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Synaptic Activity ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Sensorimotor Processing ◽  
18F Fluorodeoxyglucose ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

Abstract Gait impairment during complex walking in older adults is thought to result from a progressive failure to compensate for deteriorating peripheral inputs by central neural processes. It is the primary hypothesis of this article that failure of higher cerebral adaptations may already be present in middle-aged adults who do not present observable gait impairments. We, therefore, compared metabolic brain activity during steering of gait (ie, complex locomotion) and straight walking (ie, simple locomotion) in young and middle-aged individuals. Cerebral distribution of [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose, a marker of brain synaptic activity, was assessed during over ground straight walking and steering of gait using positron emission tomography in seven young adults (aged 24 ± 3) and seven middle-aged adults (aged 59 ± 3). Brain regions involved in steering of gait (posterior parietal cortex, superior frontal gyrus, and cerebellum) are retained in middle age. However, despite similar walking performance, there are age-related differences in the distribution of [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose during steering: middle-aged adults have (i) increased activation of precentral and fusiform gyri, (ii) reduced deactivation of multisensory cortices (inferior frontal, postcentral, and fusiform gyri), and (iii) reduced activation of the middle frontal gyrus and cuneus. Our results suggest that preclinical decline in central sensorimotor processing in middle age is observable during complex walking.

Young and Middle Aged Adults Differ in Neural Correlate of Sustained Attention: A fNIRS Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shweta Shenoy ◽  
Prachi Khandekar ◽  
Abhinav Sathe
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Sustained Attention ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

: Sustained attention (SA) is a construct of cognition that tends to decline with age. There is a lack of literature regarding the neural correlates of SA in middle age, a link between young and old age. This study evaluated the differences in SA ability and its neural correlates using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) between young and middle-aged adults. 38 young and 25 middle-aged adults were evaluated for the changes in neural correlates (oxy and deoxyhemoglobin concentration in the prefrontal cortex) during a SA task known as cognition. The results showed that young adults performed significantly better than middle-aged adults on the SA task with no gender difference in their performance. There was a significant difference in the prefrontal activation pattern between young and middle-aged adults. We found right prefrontal dominance in young adults and left the prefrontal authority in middle-aged adults. This study concludes that the ability to maintain SA diminishes with age, advancing from young to middle age. Hemodynamic findings confirmed significant differences in neural resources in the prefrontal cortical areas between young and middle age. Findings document the neurobiological basis of age-related decline in the middle-aged population to understand changes in the brain's functioning during SA-related cognitive tasks.

scholarly journals Playing Minecraft Improves Hippocampal-Associated Memory for Details in Middle Aged Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig E. L. Stark ◽  
Gregory D. Clemenson ◽  
Ujwal Aluru ◽  
Nikki Hatamian ◽  
Shauna M. Stark
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Function ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Middle Aged Adults ◽  
Age Related Cognitive Decline ◽  
The Impact

Concerns are often raised about the impact that playing video games may have on cognition and behavior, whether gameplay is intense and protracted as with competitive Esports or whether it is more casual gameplay. Work in our lab and others, however, has shown that at least some classes of games can improve memory function. In particular, playing immersive 3D games that provide rich experiences and novelty improve memory on tasks that rely upon the hippocampus in effects that mirror the effects of “environmental enrichment” in numerous rodent studies. Our goal in the present study was to determine whether even modest amounts of gameplay (~30 min/day for 4 weeks) would result in improved memory performance in middle-aged adults. Not only is this demographic potentially highly receptive to gaming (they make up a significant portion of Esports viewers and of game players), but interventions in middle age may be a prime time for reducing later age-related cognitive decline. Here, we found that the benefits in middle age paralleled effects previously observed in young adults as playing Minecraft, showing improved memory performance on a hippocampal dependent memory task.

IC-P-030: The influence of AD family history and ApoE4 on vulnerable brain regions in cognitively normal middle-aged adults

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. S667-S667
Author(s):  
Sterling C. Johnson ◽  
Taylor W. Schmitz ◽  
Michele L. Ries ◽  
Mehul A. Trivedi ◽  
Craig Atwood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family History ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Cognitively Normal ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

scholarly journals Missionaries, Middle Age, and the Generative Life

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Robert Dunaetz
Keyword(s):  
Adult Development ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Life Narrative ◽  
Values And Beliefs ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

By the time career missionaries reach middle age, the risk of personal stagnation is high. Some missionaries, however, are very productive during this period of life. In Erickson’s classic description of adult development, middle-aged adults who successfully navigate this period need to lead a generative life, learning how to positively influence future generations. This paper reviews recent literature on the predictors of generativity, including awareness of early blessings and calling, awareness of others’ problems and pain, strong values and beliefs, pursuing goals to benefit others, and the presence of redemptive sequences in one’s life narrative (the story that we tell ourselves and others which helps define our identity). Missionaries are encouraged to update their life narrative, going beyond the story of their conversion to Christianity, to include stories of how God has worked in their lives in recent years.

scholarly journals The Encoding/Retrieval Flip: Interactions between Memory Performance and Memory Stage and Relationship to Intrinsic Cortical Networks

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 1163-1179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Willem Huijbers ◽  
Aaron P. Schultz ◽  
Patrizia Vannini ◽  
Donald G. McLaren ◽  
Sarah E. Wigman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Resting State Fmri ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Default Network ◽  
Cortical Networks ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Retrieval Processes ◽  
Memory Stage

fMRI studies have linked the posteromedial cortex to episodic learning (encoding) and remembering (retrieval) processes. The posteromedial cortex is considered part of the default network and tends to deactivate during encoding but activate during retrieval, a pattern known as the encoding/retrieval flip. Yet, the exact relationship between the neural correlates of memory performance (hit/miss) and memory stage (encoding/retrieval) and the extent of overlap with intrinsic cortical networks remains to be elucidated. Using task-based fMRI, we isolated the pattern of activity associated with memory performance, memory stage, and the interaction between both. Using resting-state fMRI, we identified which intrinsic large-scale functional networks overlapped with regions showing task-induced effects. Our results demonstrated an effect of successful memory performance in regions associated with the control network and an effect of unsuccessful memory performance in the ventral attention network. We found an effect of memory retrieval in brain regions that span the default and control networks. Finally, we found an interaction between memory performance and memory stage in brain regions associated with the default network, including the posteromedial cortex, posterior parietal cortex, and parahippocampal cortex. We discuss these findings in relation to the encoding/retrieval flip. In general, the findings demonstrate that task-induced effects cut across intrinsic cortical networks. Furthermore, regions within the default network display functional dissociations, and this may have implications for the neural underpinnings of age-related memory disorders.

scholarly journals O4-01-01: The influence of AD family history and APOE4 on vulnerable brain regions in cognitively normal middle-aged adults

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. S74-S74
Author(s):  
Sterling C. Johnson ◽  
Taylor W. Schmitz ◽  
Michele L. Ries ◽  
Mehul A. Trivedi ◽  
Craig S. Atwood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family History ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Cognitively Normal ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

scholarly journals PROFESSIONAL SELF-DEVELOPMENT OF MIDDLE-AGED ADULT LEARNERS: OPPORTUNITIES FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL SUPPORT

2021 ◽  
Vol 229 ◽  
pp. 31-39
Author(s):  
V.A. Ioannidi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Adult Students ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Educational Environment ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Self Development ◽  
Professional Self ◽  
Middle Aged Adult ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

The attitude to age in Russia and abroad is rapidly changing. Now middle-aged adults are fairly recognized as capable of continuing their educational and professional activities, active self-development, long-term economic activity and financial independence. Middle-aged adults remain involved in social life in the family and society, and are ready to develop professionally and personally throughout their lives. The process of supporting professional self-development in the educational environment should be holistic and systemically organized, in which psychological and pedagogical conditions are created for successful professional training and personal self-development. In the course of the theoretical study clarified the meaning of “professional self-development of students middle-age adults”; the highlighted stages of psychological and pedagogical support of professional self-development for adults; evaluation of the level of readiness of students of middle-age adults and their actual involvement in the process of professional self-development; updated pedagogical and psychological conditions of psychological and pedagogical support of students middle-age adults; the effectiveness of the activities of the participants of the developed support program and the effectiveness of the program as a whole are analyzed. Professional self-development of middle-aged adult students is possible through the implementation of a program of psychological and pedagogical support. For an effective process of supporting professional self-development, it is necessary to create an appropriate educational environment and conditions for the formation of students involvement and readiness in this process.

scholarly journals Age-related changes in body composition persons of middle age (letter 1)

2020 ◽  
pp. 31-41
Author(s):  
Антонина Владимировна Алексеева ◽  
Анатолий Яковлевич Рыжов ◽  
Данила Игоревич Игнатьев
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Anthropometric Indicators ◽  
Aged People ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Age Related Changes

Исследованы антропометрические показатели и параметры состава тела у лиц среднего возраста. Установлено, что некоторые калиперометрические показатели испытывают различие у мужчин и женщин. Калиперометрические показатели величины кожных покровов спины, медиальной и латеральной поверхностей бедер характеризуются тесными положительными корреляциями. Anthropometric indicators and parameters of body composition in middle-aged people were studied. It is established that some caliperometric indicators experience a difference in men and women. Caliperometric indicators of the size of the skin of the back, medial and lateral surfaces of the thighs are characterized by close positive correlations.

scholarly journals Effects of Age on Dual Task Walking Performance as Measured Using a Smartphone Application in Middle-Aged Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 168-168
Author(s):  
Junhong Zhou ◽  
Gabriele Cattaneo ◽  
Wanting Yu ◽  
Jose Tormos ◽  
Lewis Lipsitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Stride Time ◽  
Brain Health ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Single Task ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Walking Performance ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

Abstract After the age of 65, one’s ability to walk while performing an additional cognitive task (i.e., dual-tasking) is predictive of both future falls and cognitive decline. However, while it is well-known that older adults exhibit diminished dual-task performance, the time course of age-related dual-task decline has not been established. We thus conducted an analysis of data collected within the ongoing Barcelona Brain Health Initiative, a prospective population-based study characterizing the determinants of brain health maintenance in middle-aged adults. Cognitively-unimpaired participants (n=655) aged 40-65 years without neuro-psychiatric disease completed laboratory-based trials of walking normally (single-task) and walking while performing a verbalized serial subtraction task (dual-task). A smartphone-based gait assessment application was used to capture data and derive both the mean stride time (ST) and stride time variability (STV, defined as the coefficient of variation about the mean stride time) of each trial. The dual-task costs (DTC) to each gait metric were obtained by calculating the percent change from single- to dual-task conditions. We categorized participants into five groups according to age (e.g. Group 1: 40-45 years; Group 5: 60-65 years). Age group did not have an effect on single-task gait outcomes (p>0.51). However, the oldest age group, as compared to each of the other groups, exhibited greater DTC to both ST and STV (p<0.03). These results indicate that dual-task walking performance in particular may begin to diminish in late middle age even in the absence of detectable cognitive issues, DTC may offer a sensitive metric to age-related change in cognitive function.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document