USING VR FOR NAVIGATION ASSESSMENT IN OLDER ADULTS

Previous research has identified a divergent trajectory for the aging brain, characterized by declines in cognition and preservation in emotional processing. According to the socioemotional selectivity theory, reduced time horizons in later life cause a motivational shift to prioritize emotional goals, such as positive well-being. In service of these goals, older adults devote more cognitive effort to attend to and remember positive information; however, whether they can exert control over such information once it enters memory is not well understood. The primary aim of this dissertation was thus to examine age-related changes in cognitive control of emotional memory including its underlying metacognitive and neural components. In three experiments, young and older adults completed a cue- or value-based version of the item-directed forgetting task for positive, negative, and neutral words. Results consistently demonstrated that young and older adults could strategically control encoding of emotional information, by prioritizing relevant over irrelevant words in memory. This was evident when encoding was directed by to-be-remembered (TBR) or to-be-forgotten (TBF) cues as well as by numeric points that signaled a gain or loss of value (+10 vs. -10). Extending previous research on metacognition and aging, results indicated age invariance in prospective judgments of learning made during the encoding of TBR and TBF words that varied in emotion. In contrast, age groups differed when retrospectively monitoring the source of words. Whereas young adults’ source monitoring was not influenced by emotion or cues, older adults tended to attribute positive items to sources that were higher in value for memory (TBR or +10 cues), consistent with an age-related bias to prioritize positivity. Finally, age differences in event-related potentials underlying encoding of TBR and TBF words provided evidence that older adults may recruit additional resources in frontal regions of the brain to facilitate task performance. Moreover, in line with behavioural results, the ERP signatures of directed forgetting were not modulated by emotion. Altogether, this dissertation demonstrates that cognitive control over emotional memory is intact in later life; however, it highlights important age differences in the metacognitive and neural correlates of this ability.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

The older adult brain is less modular, more integrated and less efficient at rest: A systematic review of large-scale resting-state functional brain networks across the adult lifespan.

10.31234/osf.io/3n5td ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hamish Deery ◽

Rober Di Paolo ◽

Chris Moran ◽

Gary F. Egan ◽

Sharna Jamadar

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Age Differences ◽

Resting State ◽

Large Scale ◽

Brain Networks ◽

Adult Brain ◽

Functional Brain ◽

Adult Lifespan ◽

Age Related ◽

Functional Brain Networks

The literature on large-scale resting-state functional brain networks across the adult lifespan was systematically reviewed. Studies published between 1986 and July 2021 were retrieved from PubMed. After reviewing 2,938 records, 144 studies were included. Results on 11 network measures were summarised and assessed for certainty of the evidence using a modified GRADE method. The evidence provides high certainty that older adults display reduced within-network and increased between-network functional connectivity. Older adults also show lower segregation, modularity, efficiency and hub function. Higher-order networks reliably showed age differences, whereas basic processing and control networks showed more variable results. The inflection point for network changes is often the third or fourth decade of life. Age effects were found with moderate certainty for increased hemispheric lateralisation at rest, reduced BOLD signal variability within-subjects and altered patterns and speed of dynamic connectivity. Research on connectivity using glucose uptake provides low certainty of age differences but warrants further study. Taken together, these age-related changes may contribute to the cognitive decline often seen in older adults.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Aging II

Remembering ◽

10.1093/oso/9780192895226.003.0008 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 189-216

Author(s):

Fergus I. M. Craik

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Age Differences ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Cued Recall ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Environmental Support ◽

Age Related ◽

Implicit And Explicit Memory ◽

Implicit And Explicit

Chapter 8 focuses on empirical studies of age-related differences in memory performance. In accordance with the concepts of environmental support and self-initiated activities it is shown that age decrements are greater in cued recall than in recognition, also that cued recall is more resource-demanding than recognition. A further study found that age-related deficits were reduced by the use of semantically related materials but that older adults showed greater dual-task costs, especially at the time of retrieval. Age-related impairments were reduced by the use of pictorial materials as opposed to words; and reinstatement of the encoding context at retrieval was particularly helpful to older adults. A study carried out in California showed how individual differences in verbal intelligence and in daily activity levels modified the pattern of findings. The point that older adults have difficulty retrieving highly specific information is discussed and illustrated. Experiments are described that investigate memory for the source of learned information, and for age differences in prospective memory; younger adults outperformed their older counterparts in both situations. Finally, some interesting patterns of age differences in performance of implicit and explicit memory tasks are described and discussed.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Age differences in cognitive control of emotional memory: metacognitive aspects and neural correlates

10.32920/ryerson.14655381.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sara Nicole Gallant

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Control ◽

Age Differences ◽

Later Life ◽

Well Being ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Emotional Memory ◽

Directed Forgetting ◽

Age Related ◽

Related Potentials

Previous research has identified a divergent trajectory for the aging brain, characterized by declines in cognition and preservation in emotional processing. According to the socioemotional selectivity theory, reduced time horizons in later life cause a motivational shift to prioritize emotional goals, such as positive well-being. In service of these goals, older adults devote more cognitive effort to attend to and remember positive information; however, whether they can exert control over such information once it enters memory is not well understood. The primary aim of this dissertation was thus to examine age-related changes in cognitive control of emotional memory including its underlying metacognitive and neural components. In three experiments, young and older adults completed a cue- or value-based version of the item-directed forgetting task for positive, negative, and neutral words. Results consistently demonstrated that young and older adults could strategically control encoding of emotional information, by prioritizing relevant over irrelevant words in memory. This was evident when encoding was directed by to-be-remembered (TBR) or to-be-forgotten (TBF) cues as well as by numeric points that signaled a gain or loss of value (+10 vs. -10). Extending previous research on metacognition and aging, results indicated age invariance in prospective judgments of learning made during the encoding of TBR and TBF words that varied in emotion. In contrast, age groups differed when retrospectively monitoring the source of words. Whereas young adults’ source monitoring was not influenced by emotion or cues, older adults tended to attribute positive items to sources that were higher in value for memory (TBR or +10 cues), consistent with an age-related bias to prioritize positivity. Finally, age differences in event-related potentials underlying encoding of TBR and TBF words provided evidence that older adults may recruit additional resources in frontal regions of the brain to facilitate task performance. Moreover, in line with behavioural results, the ERP signatures of directed forgetting were not modulated by emotion. Altogether, this dissertation demonstrates that cognitive control over emotional memory is intact in later life; however, it highlights important age differences in the metacognitive and neural correlates of this ability.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Developing a recovery-focused therapy for older people with bipolar disorder: a qualitative focus group study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049829 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. e049829

Author(s):

Elizabeth Tyler ◽

Fiona Lobban ◽

Rita Long ◽

Steven H Jones

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Bipolar Disorder ◽

Focus Group ◽

Older People ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Later Life ◽

Focus Group Study ◽

Age Related ◽

Health Related ◽

Age Related Changes

ObjectivesAs awareness of bipolar disorder (BD) increases and the world experiences a rapid ageing of the population, the number of people living with BD in later life is expected to rise substantially. There is no current evidence base for the effectiveness of psychological interventions for older adults with BD. This focus group study explored a number of topics to inform the development and delivery of a recovery-focused therapy (RfT) for older adults with BD.DesignA qualitative focus group study.SettingThree focus groups were conducted at a university in the North West of England.ParticipantsEight people took part in the focus groups; six older adults with BD, one carer and one friend.ResultsParticipant’s responses clustered into six themes: (1) health-related and age-related changes in later life, (2) the experience of BD in later life, (3) managing and coping with BD in later life, (4) recovery in later life, (5) seeking helping in the future and (6) adapting RfT for older people.ConclusionsParticipants reported a range of health-related and age-related changes and strategies to manage their BD. Participants held mixed views about using the term ‘recovery’ in later life. Participants were in agreement that certain adaptations were needed for delivering RfT for older adults, based on their experience of living with BD in later life. The data collected as part of the focus groups have led to a number of recommendations for delivering RfT for older adults with BD in a randomised controlled trial (Clinical Trial Registration: ISRCTN13875321).

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Age Differences in the Social Associative Learning of Trust Information

10.31234/osf.io/b38rd ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Kendra Leigh Seaman ◽

Alexander P. Christensen ◽

Katherine Senn ◽

Jessica Cooper ◽

Brittany Shane Cassidy

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Age Differences ◽

Social Cues ◽

Trust Game ◽

Time Model ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Cortical Areas ◽

Age Related ◽

The Social ◽

Over Time

Trust is a key component of social interaction. Older adults, however, often exhibit excessive trust relative to younger adults. One explanation is that older adults may learn to trust differently than younger adults. Here, we examine how younger (N=33) and older adults (N=30) learn to trust over time. Participants completed a classic iterative trust game with three partners. Younger and older adults shared similar amounts but differed in how they shared money. Compared to younger adults, older adults invested more with untrustworthy partners and less with trustworthy partners. As a group, older adults displayed less learning than younger adults. However, computational modeling shows that this is because older adults are more likely to forget what they have learned over time. Model-based fMRI analyses revealed several age-related differences in neural processing. Younger adults showed prediction error signals in social processing areas while older adults showed over-recruitment of several cortical areas. Collectively, these findings suggest that older adults attend to and learn from social cues differently from younger adults.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Adult age differences in subjective responses to dynamic socioemotional incentives

10.31234/osf.io/4u3kc ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sade J Abiodun ◽

Galen McAllister ◽

Gregory Russell Samanez-Larkin ◽

Kendra Leigh Seaman

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Age Differences ◽

Emotional Valence ◽

Incentive Motivation ◽

Social Signals ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Positivity Effect ◽

Adult Age ◽

Age Related ◽

Adult Age Differences

Facial expressions are powerful communicative social signals that motivate feelings and action in the observer. However, research on incentive motivation has overwhelmingly focused on money and points and the limited research on social incentives has been mostly focused on responses in young adulthood. Previous research on the age-related positivity effect and adult age differences in social motivation suggest that older adults might experience higher levels of positive arousal to socioemotional stimuli than younger adults. Affect ratings following dynamic emotional expressions (anger, happiness, sadness) varying in magnitude of expression showed that higher magnitude expressions elicited higher arousal and valence ratings. Older adults did not differ significantly in levels of arousal when compared to younger adults, however their ratings of emotional valence were significantly higher as the magnitude of expressions increased. The findings provide novel evidence that socioemotional incentives may be relatively more reinforcing as adults age. More generally, these dynamic socioemotional stimuli that vary in magnitude are ideal for future studies of more naturalistic affect elicitation, studies of social incentive processing, and use in incentive-driven choice tasks.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Age Differences in the Required Coefficient of Friction During Level Walking Do Not Exist When Experimentally-Controlling Speed and Step Length

Journal of Applied Biomechanics ◽

10.1123/jab.2013-0275 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 542-546 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Dennis E. Anderson ◽

Christopher T. Franck ◽

Michael L. Madigan

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Age Differences ◽

Coefficient Of Friction ◽

Age Groups ◽

Step Length ◽

Age Difference ◽

Age Related ◽

Negative Effect ◽

Independent Effects ◽

Positive Effect

The effects of gait speed and step length on the required coefficient of friction (COF) confound the investigation of age-related differences in required COF. The goals of this study were to investigate whether age differences in required COF during self-selected gait persist when experimentally-controlling speed and step length, and to determine the independent effects of speed and step length on required COF. Ten young and 10 older healthy adults performed gait trials under five gait conditions: self-selected, slow and fast speeds without controlling step length, and slow and fast speeds while controlling step length. During self-selected gait, older adults walked with shorter step lengths and exhibited a lower required COF. Older adults also exhibited a lower required COF when walking at a controlled speed without controlling step length. When both age groups walked with the same speed and step length, no age difference in required COF was found. Thus, speed and step length can have a large influence on studies investigating age-related differences in required COF. It was also found that speed and step length have independent and opposite effects on required COF, with step length having a strong positive effect on required COF, and speed having a weaker negative effect.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

Rising above It: Status Ambivalence in Older Adults

Gerontology ◽

10.1159/000488389 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 64 (6) ◽

pp. 576-588

Author(s):

Deirdre A. Robertson ◽

David Weiss

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Social Status ◽

Later Life ◽

Well Being ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Protective Mechanism ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Age Related ◽

The Social ◽

Implicit And Explicit

Background: Social status is the standing of a person or group in the social hierarchy, and is perceived to change across the life span from low social status in early life, to peak in midlife, and to a decline thereafter. As threats to subjective social status are known to be detrimental to individuals’ health, it is important to better understand how older adults perceive themselves and others in terms of age-related social status. Objective: We examined status ambivalence – the potential discrepancy between how older adults’ perceive social status for themselves compared to older adults in general. Method: Study 1 used qualitative data from 37 semi-structured interviews with older adults to assess perceptions of social status. Study 2 used quantitative survey data from 114 older adults who completed explicit and implicit measures of social status. Results: Study 1 (n = 37, meanage = 71.72, SDage = 5.69; 81.1% women) provided preliminary evidence for status ambivalence such that older adults reported unequivocal low social status for other older adults but a more ambivalent perception of their own social status. Study 2 (n = 114, meanage = 64.32, SDage = 8.98, 57.9% women) compared implicit and explicit measures of social status revealing that older adults consistently perceive older adults to have low social status but again show a more ambivalent perception of their own social status. Conclusion: We discuss status ambivalence as a potential protective mechanism in the context of negative societal perceptions of age-related social status that may be important for well-being in later life.

Get full-text (via PubEx)

AGE-BASED STEREOTYPE THREAT: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF PRIMING TECHNIQUES AND THEIR EFFECTS

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.1705 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S455-S456

Author(s):

Francesco Vailati Riboni ◽

Francesco Pagnini

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Older Adults ◽

Stereotype Threat ◽

Functional Performance ◽

Later Life ◽

Experimental Methods ◽

Experimental Manipulation ◽

Older Individuals ◽

Negative Stereotypes ◽

Age Related

Abstract Age-based stereotype threat (ABST) occurs when older adults are influenced by negative stereotypes about age-related decline and functional losses and ironically behave in disengaging and self-defeating ways that confirm the stereotype (Steele & Aronson, 1995). Aging stereotypes are found to be strong predictors of health and illness outcomes in later life, and are associated with performance in specific areas, mainly in cognitive and physical domains. The current study reviewed the experimental methods and their reported effects previously published in the literature to determine if there were different ABST methods were associated with different types of age-related outcomes. We conducted a systematic review, screening the scientific literature for papers that included experimental manipulation of age-related stereotypes as an independent variable, focusing on samples of older adults (1113 articles, most published after 2003). Through a classification of the common and distinctive characteristics of the different stereotype manipulation techniques, we were able to identify three specific types of experimental methods: by instruction, tests, and interpersonal exposure. Although the mechanism by which stereotypes are associated with functional outcomes in older adults remains unclear, our review suggests it is possible to experimentally control the activation of the stereotype by manipulating its specific characteristics and the way older participants are exposed to it. Findings also highlight the possibility that specific experimental methods used to induce ABST in older individuals may lead to unique and different consequences on functional performance variation.

Get full-text (via PubEx)