scholarly journals Internal model recalibration does not deteriorate with age while motor adaptation does

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koenraad Vandevoorde ◽  
Jean-Jacques Orban de Xivry

AbstractA wide range of motor function declines with aging. Motor adaptation, which occurs when participants learn to reach accurately to a target despite a perturbation, does not deviate from this rule. There are currently three major hypotheses that have been put forward to explain this age-related decline in adaptation: deterioration of internal model recalibration due to age-related cerebellar degeneration, impairment of the cognitive component of motor adaptation, and deficit in the retention of the learned movement. In the present study, we systematically investigated these three hypotheses in a large sample of older women and men. We demonstrate that age-related deficits in motor adaptation are not due to impaired internal model recalibration or impaired retention of motor memory. Rather, we found that the cognitive component was reduced in older people. Therefore, our study suggests the interesting possibility that cerebellar-based mechanisms do not deteriorate with age despite cerebellar degeneration. In contrast, internal model recalibration appears to compensate for deficits in the cognitive component of this type of learning.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koenraad Vandevoorde ◽  
Jean-Jacques Orban de Xivry

AbstractThe ability to adjust movements to changes in the environment declines with aging. This age-related decline is caused by the decline of explicit adjustments. However, automatic adjustment of movement, or internal model recalibration, remains intact and might even be increased with aging. Since somatosensory information appears to be required for internal model recalibration, it might well be that an age-related decline in somatosensory acuity is linked to the increase of internal model recalibration. One possible explanation for an increased internal model recalibration is that age-related somatosensory deficits could lead to altered sensory integration with an increased weighting of the visual sensory-prediction error. Another possibility is that reduced somatosensory acuity results in an increased reliance on predicted sensory feedback. Both these explanations led to our preregistered hypothesis: we expect a relation between the decline of somatosensation and the increased internal model recalibration with aging. However, we failed to support this hypothesis. Our results question the existence of reliability-based integration of visual and somatosensory signals during motor adaptation.New & NoteworthyIs somatosensory acuity linked to implicit motor adaptation? The latter is larger in old compared to younger people? In light of reliability-based sensory integration, we hypothesized that this larger implicit adaptation was linked to an age-related lower reliability of somatosensation. Over two experiments and 130 participants, we failed to find any evidence for this. We discuss alternative explanations for the increase in implicit adaptation with age and the validity of our somatosensory assessment.


2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (02) ◽  
pp. 122-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Gandy ◽  
Amelia Bell ◽  
Bob McClelland ◽  
Brenda Roe

AimAge UK Lancashire received Big Lottery funding to deliver an active lives programme from January 2012 to December 2014 to the population of West Lancashire aged over 50 years. The overall aims of the associated evaluation were to measure older people’s experiences of participating in the programme, identify the impacts on their health and well-being and their suggestions for services development, and establish the costs and benefits of the programme.BackgroundThe World Health Organisation recommends older people should be able to achieve physical, social and mental well-being throughout their lives, and that international, national and local policies should be developed to support older adults, promote their independence and well-being, and encourage physical exercise. Consequently, the West Lancashire programme was to establish preventative community support for older people to assist in improving their well-being and physical and mental health, particularly those isolated due to age-related illness or disability. It was to provide interventions not available from local social care providers.MethodsA mixed methods approach was adopted, with the qualitative evaluation utilising focus groups to establish people’s experiences, identify impacts on their health and well-being, and suggestions for services development. This paper describes the quantitative evaluation, which involved three surveys and a costs analysis. The surveys were scheduled to give timely feedback to management about programme delivery and content, and overall benefits of participation.FindingsThe active lives programme and groups offered a wide range of flexible and local activities that provided benefits for older people in terms of health and well-being, social well-being and quality of life, and reducing social isolation. There was interconnectivity between these benefits. The programme was delivered in an affordable and flexible manner. Such programmes should be made more widely available.


2020 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koenraad Vandevoorde ◽  
Jean-Jacques Orban de Xivry

Our work addresses the contradiction between the age-related increase in the contribution of cognition for the execution of motor tasks and the age-related decrease in the cognitive component of motor adaptation. We predicted that elderly adults would need more cognitive resources for reaches and would, therefore, not have enough cognitive resources available for adaptation. Rather, we observed that visuospatial abilities could better explain the amount of cognition used by our participants for motor adaptation.


2000 ◽  
Vol 39 (05) ◽  
pp. 127-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Sieweke ◽  
K. H. Bohuslavizki ◽  
W. U. Kampen ◽  
M. Zuhayra ◽  
M. Clausen ◽  
...  

Summary Aim of this study was to validate a recently introduced new and easy-to-perform method for quantifying bone uptake of Tc-99m-labelled diphosphonate in a routine clinical setting and to establish a normal data base for bone uptake depending on age and gender. Methods: In 49 women (14-79 years) and 47 men (6-89 years) with normal bone scans as well as in 49 women (33-81 years) and 37 men (27-88 years) with metastatic bone disease whole-body bone scans were acquired at 3 min and 3-4 hours p.i. to calculate bone uptake after correction for both urinary excretion and soft tissue retention. Results: Bone uptake values of various age-related subgroups showed no significant differences between men and women (p >0.05 ). Furthermore, no differences could be proven between age-matched subgroups of normals and patients with less than 10 metastatic bone lesions, while patients with wide-spread bone metastases revealed significantly increased uptake values. In both men and women highest bone uptake was obtained (p <0.05 ) in subjects younger than 20 years with active epiphyseal growth plates. In men, bone uptake slowly decreased with age up to 60 years and then showed a tendency towards increasing uptake values. In women, the mean uptake reached a minimun in the decade 20-29 years and then slowly increased with a positive linear correlation of age and uptake in subjects older than 55 years (r = 0.57). Conclusion: Since the results proposed in this study are in good agreement with data from literature, the new method used for quantification could be validated in a large number of patients. Furthermore, age- and sexrelated normal bone uptake values of Tc-99m-HDP covering a wide range of age could be presented for this method as a basis for further studies on bone uptake.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 313-314
Author(s):  
Darlingtina Esiaka ◽  
Alice Cheng ◽  
Candidus Nwakasi

Abstract Self-acknowledgement and integration of racial and sexual identities are significant to one’s overall sense of identity because of their implications for mental health and wellbeing. These issues are important as one ages because older people experience a wide range of factors that add layers to their ability to (re)integrate subsets of their identity into their overall self-identity such as age and age-related disabilities. This study examined the intersection of race and sexual identities on overall health status in older Black gay men, a demographic group that has historically received less attention. Data from the Social Justice Sexuality (SJS) survey of LGBTQ+ people of color which occurred over a 12-month period in the United States were analyzed. Participants (N=160), 50 years and over, responded to questions about their sexuality, social identity, family dynamics, community connection and engagement, and mental and physical health. Results show an association of mental wellbeing with racial and sexual identities. Further, results show that a strong sense of connection to other sexual minorities is positively associated with mental health in older Black gay men. We discuss the implication of findings for mental health interventions targeting this gendered population.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yesa Yang ◽  
Hannah Dunbar

Endpoint development trials are underway across the spectrum of retinal disease. New validated endpoints are urgently required for the assessment of emerging gene therapies and in preparation for the arrival of novel therapeutics targeting early stages of common sight-threatening conditions such as age-related macular degeneration. Visual function measures are likely to be key candidates in this search. Over the last two decades, microperimetry has been used extensively to characterize functional vision in a wide range of retinal conditions, detecting subtle defects in retinal sensitivity that precede visual acuity loss and tracking disease progression over relatively short periods. Given these appealing features, microperimetry has already been adopted as an endpoint in interventional studies, including multicenter trials, on a modest scale. A review of its use to date shows a concurrent lack of consensus in test strategy and a wealth of innovative disease and treatment-specific metrics which may show promise as clinical trial endpoints. There are practical issues to consider, but these have not held back its popularity and it remains a widely used psychophysical test in research. Endpoint development trials will undoubtedly be key in understanding the validity of microperimetry as a clinical trial endpoint, but existing signs are promising.


Author(s):  
Charles Patrick Namisi ◽  
John C. Munene ◽  
Rhoda K. Wanyenze ◽  
Anne R. Katahoire ◽  
Rosalinda M. Parkes-Ratanshi ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims This study aimed to determine the prevalence of, factors associated with, and to build a theoretical framework for understanding Internalsed HIV-related Stigma Mastery (IHSM). Methods A cross-sectional study nested within a 2014 Stigma Reduction Cohort in Uganda was used. The PLHIV Stigma Index version 2008, was used to collect data from a random sample of 666 people living with HIV (PLHIV) stratified by gender and age. SPSS24 with Amos27 softwares were used to build a sequential-mediation model. Results The majority of participants were women (65%), aged ≥ 40 years (57%). Overall, IHSM was 45.5% among PLHIV, that increased with age. Specifically, higher IHSM correlated with men and older women “masculine identities” self-disclosure of HIV-diagnosis to family, sharing experiences with peers. However, lower IHSM correlated with feminine gender, the experience of social exclusion stress, fear of future rejection, and fear of social intimacy. Thus, IHSM social exclusion with its negative effects and age-related cognition are integrated into a multidimensional IHSM theoretical framework with a good model-to-data fit. Conclusion Internalised HIV-related Stigma Mastery is common among men and older women. Specificially, “masculine identities” self-disclose their own HIV-positive diagnosis to their family, share experiences with peers to create good relationships for actualising or empowerment in stigma mastery. However, social exclusion exacerbates series of negative effects that finally undermine stigma mastery by young feminine identities. Thus, stigma mastery is best explained by an integrated empowerment framework, that has implications for future practice, policy, and stigma-related research that we discuss.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1539
Author(s):  
Paola De Sanctis ◽  
Giuseppe Filardo ◽  
Provvidenza Maria Abruzzo ◽  
Annalisa Astolfi ◽  
Alessandra Bolotta ◽  
...  

In a previous study, the whole transcriptome of the vastus lateralis muscle from sedentary elderly and from age-matched athletes with an exceptional record of high-intensity, life-long exercise training was compared—the two groups representing the two extremes on a physical activity scale. Exercise training enabled the skeletal muscle to counteract age-related sarcopenia by inducing a wide range of adaptations, sustained by the expression of protein-coding genes involved in energy handling, proteostasis, cytoskeletal organization, inflammation control, and cellular senescence. Building on the previous study, we examined here the network of non-coding RNAs participating in the orchestration of gene expression and identified differentially expressed micro- and long-non-coding RNAs and some of their possible targets and roles. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering analyses of all non-coding RNAs were able to discriminate between sedentary and trained individuals, regardless of the exercise typology. Validated targets of differentially expressed miRNA were grouped by KEGG analysis, which pointed to functional areas involved in cell cycle, cytoskeletal control, longevity, and many signaling pathways, including AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which had been shown to be pivotal in the modulation of the effects of high-intensity, life-long exercise training. The analysis of differentially expressed long-non-coding RNAs identified transcriptional networks, involving lncRNAs, miRNAs and mRNAs, affecting processes in line with the beneficial role of exercise training.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yemin Yuan ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Nan Zhang ◽  
Peipei Fu ◽  
Zhengyue Jing ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Evidence concerning the association between body mass index (BMI) and cognitive function among older people is inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate gender and age as moderators in association between BMI and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among rural older adults. Methods Data were derived from the 2019 Health Service for Rural Elderly Families Survey in Shandong, China. In total, 3242 people aged 60 years and above were included in the analysis. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression was used to examine the moderating roles of gender and age, then further to explore the relationship between BMI and MCI. Results There were 601 (18.5%) participants with MCI. Compared with normal BMI group, low BMI group had a higher risk of MCI among older people [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.08, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.26–3.44], women (aOR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.35–3.12), or the older elderly aged ≥75 years old (aOR = 3.20, 95% CI: 1.34–7.45). This effect remained statistically significant among older women (aOR = 3.38, 95% CI: 1.69–6.73). Among older men, elevated BMI group had a higher risk of MCI (aOR = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.17–4.61) than normal BMI group. Conclusions Gender and age moderated the association between BMI and MCI among Chinese rural older adults. Older women with low BMI were more likely to have MCI, but older men with elevated BMI were more likely to have MCI. These findings suggest rural community managers strengthen the health management by grouping the weight of older people to prevent the risk of dementia.


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