Age-related impairment of navigation and strategy in virtual star maze

Abstract Background Although it is well known that aging impairs navigation performance, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Egocentric strategy requires navigators to remember a series of body-turns without relying on the relationship between environmental cues. Previous study suggested that the egocentric strategy, compared with non-egocentric strategy, was relatively unimpaired during aging. In this study, we aimed to examine strategy use during virtual navigation task and the underlying cognitive supporting mechanisms in older adults. Methods Thirty young adults and thirty-one older adults were recruited from the local community. This study adapted star maze paradigm using non-immersive virtual environment. Participants moved freely in a star maze with adequate landmarks, and were requested to find a fixed destination. After 9 learning trials, participants were probed in the same virtual star maze but with no salient landmarks. Participants were classified as egocentric or non-egocentric strategy group according to their response in the probe trial. Results The results revealed that older adults adopting egocentric strategy completed the navigation task as accurate as young adults, whereas older adults using non-egocentric strategy completed the navigation task with more detours and lower accuracy. The relatively well-maintained egocentric strategy in older adults was related to better visuo-spatial ability. Conclusions Visuo-spatial ability might play an important role in navigation accuracy and navigation strategy of older adults. This study demonstrated the potential value of the virtual star maze in evaluating navigation strategy and visuo-spatial ability in older adults.

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Age-related impairment of navigation and strategy in virtual reality star maze

10.21203/rs.3.rs-45856/v3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jiaxin Zhang ◽

Lin Wang ◽

Haiyan Hou ◽

Chunlin Yue ◽

Liang Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Young Adults ◽

Spatial Ability ◽

Local Community ◽

Navigation Task ◽

Immersive Virtual Environment ◽

Age Related ◽

Navigation Strategy ◽

Lower Accuracy ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

Abstract Background: Although it is well known that aging impairs navigation performance, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Egocentric strategy requires navigators to remember a series of body-turns without relying on the relationship between environmental cues. Previous study suggested that the egocentric strategy, compared with non-egocentric strategy, was relatively unimpaired during aging. In this study, we aimed to examine strategy use during virtual navigation task and the underlying cognitive supporting mechanisms in older adults.Methods: Thirty young adults and thirty-one older adults were recruited from the local community. This study adapted star maze paradigm using non-immersive virtual environment. Participants moved freely in a star maze with adequate landmarks, and were requested to find a fixed destination. After 9 learning trials, participants were probed in the same virtual star maze but with no salient landmarks. Participants were classified as egocentric or non-egocentric strategy group according to their response in the probe trial. Results: The results revealed that older adults adopting egocentric strategy completed the navigation task as accurate as young adults, whereas older adults using non-egocentric strategy completed the navigation task with more detours and lower accuracy. The relatively well-maintained egocentric strategy in older adults was related to better visuo-spatial ability.Conclusions: Visuo-spatial ability might play an important role in navigation accuracy and navigation strategy of older adults. This study demonstrated the potential value of the virtual star maze in evaluating navigation strategy and visuo-spatial ability in older adults.

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Age-related impairment of navigation and strategy in virtual star maze

10.21203/rs.3.rs-45856/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jiaxin Zhang ◽

Lin Wang ◽

Haiyan Hou ◽

Chunlin Yue ◽

Liang Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Young Adults ◽

Spatial Ability ◽

Local Community ◽

Navigation Task ◽

Immersive Virtual Environment ◽

Age Related ◽

Navigation Strategy ◽

Lower Accuracy ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

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Age-related Impairment of Navigation and Strategy in Virtual Reality Star Maze

10.21203/rs.3.rs-45856/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jiaxin Zhang ◽

Lin Wang ◽

Haiyan Hou ◽

Chunlin Yue ◽

Liang Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Virtual Reality ◽

Young Adults ◽

Spatial Ability ◽

Maze Task ◽

Age Related ◽

Navigation Strategy ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

Navigation Accuracy ◽

Learning Trials

Abstract BackgroundAlthough it is well known that aging impairs navigation performance, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Previous study suggested that the egocentric strategy was relatively unimpaired during aging. In this study, we aimed to examine strategy use and the underlying cognitive supporting mechanisms in older adults with the virtual reality star maze.MethodsThirty young adults and thirty-one older adults participated in the study. During the learning trials, participants were required to reach a fixed destination in a virtual reality star maze task. In an additional probe trial, the distal landmarks around the maze were removed, and the strategy using was classified into egocentric and non-egocentric according to whether participants could reach the destination directly.ResultsThe results revealed that older adults adopting egocentric strategy completed the navigation task as accurate as young adults, whereas older adults using non-egocentric strategy were selectively impaired. The relatively well-maintained egocentric strategy in older adults was related to better visuo-spatial ability.ConclusionsVisuo-spatial ability might play an important role in navigation accuracy and navigation strategy of older adults. This study demonstrated the potential value of the virtual reality star maze in evaluating navigation strategy and visuo-spatial ability in older adults.

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Differences Between Young and Older Adults in Working Memory and Performance on the Test of Basic Auditory Capabilities†

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.804891 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Larry E. Humes ◽

Gary R. Kidd ◽

Jennifer J. Lentz

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Working Memory ◽

Young Adults ◽

Hearing Loss ◽

Auditory Processing ◽

Local Community ◽

Age Groups ◽

Age Group ◽

Regression Analyses ◽

Age Related

The Test of Basic Auditory Capabilities (TBAC) is a battery of auditory-discrimination tasks and speech-identification tasks that has been normed on several hundred young normal-hearing adults. Previous research with the TBAC suggested that cognitive function may impact the performance of older adults. Here, we examined differences in performance on several TBAC tasks between a group of 34 young adults with a mean age of 22.5 years (SD = 3.1 years) and a group of 115 older adults with a mean age of 69.2 years (SD = 6.2 years) recruited from the local community. Performance of the young adults was consistent with prior norms for this age group. Not surprisingly, the two groups differed significantly in hearing loss and working memory with the older adults having more hearing loss and poorer working memory than the young adults. The two age groups also differed significantly in performance on six of the nine measures extracted from the TBAC (eight test scores and one average test score) with the older adults consistently performing worse than the young adults. However, when these age-group comparisons were repeated with working memory and hearing loss as covariates, the groups differed in performance on only one of the nine auditory measures from the TBAC. For eight of the nine TBAC measures, working memory was a significant covariate and hearing loss never emerged as a significant factor. Thus, the age-group deficits observed initially on the TBAC most often appeared to be mediated by age-related differences in working memory rather than deficits in auditory processing. The results of these analyses of age-group differences were supported further by linear-regression analyses with each of the 9 TBAC scores serving as the dependent measure and age, hearing loss, and working memory as the predictors. Regression analyses were conducted for the full set of 149 adults and for just the 115 older adults. Working memory again emerged as the predominant factor impacting TBAC performance. It is concluded that working memory should be considered when comparing the performance of young and older adults on auditory tasks, including the TBAC.

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Determining the Underlying Relationship Between Swallowing and Maximum Vocal Pitch Elevation: A Preliminary Study of Their Hyoid Biomechanics in Healthy Adults

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2020_jslhr-20-00125 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (10) ◽

pp. 3408-3418

Author(s):

Anumitha Venkatraman ◽

Robert Brinton Fujiki ◽

Bruce A. Craig ◽

M. Preeti Sivasankar ◽

Georgia A. Malandraki

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Young Adults ◽

Healthy Adults ◽

Age Group ◽

Age Related ◽

Vocal Pitch ◽

Preliminary Study ◽

Muscle Changes ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

Moderate Positive Correlation

Purpose Deficiencies in swallowing (aspiration) and in maximum vocal pitch elevation have been shown to correlate in dysphagia. However, the underlying mechanisms that may explain this relationship are not known. In this study, we compare hyoid kinematics between swallowing and maximum vocal pitch elevation in healthy adults. Method Ten young ( M = 21 ± 1.33 years) and eight older ( M = 72.85 ± 5.59 years) healthy adults completed trials of maximum vocal pitch elevation (vowels /a/ and /i/) and swallowing (thin liquid and pudding) under videofluoroscopy. Superior and anterior hyoid excursions were obtained using kinematic analysis. Two-way analyses of variance and Spearman rho correlations were used to examine differences and relationships between swallowing and maximum pitch elevation biomechanics. Results Superior hyoid excursion was significantly greater for liquid swallows compared to pitch elevation tasks (/a/ and /i/; p = .002; Cohen's d = 1.28; p = .0179, Cohen's d = 1.03, respectively) and for pudding swallows compared to pitch tasks ( p = .000, Cohen's d = 1.64; p = .001, Cohen's d = 1.38, respectively). Anterior hyoid excursion was not significantly different between the two functions, but was overall reduced in the older group ( p = .0231, Cohen's d = .90). Furthermore, there was a moderate positive correlation between the degree of superior excursion during liquid swallows and maximum pitch elevation for both vowels ( r s = .601, p = .001; r s = .524, p = .003) in young adults, and between the degree of anterior excursion during liquid swallows and pitch elevation for both vowels ( r s = .688, p = .001; r s = .530, p = .008) in older adults. Conclusions Swallowing and maximum pitch elevation require similar anterior, but not superior, hyoid excursion in healthy adults. Differential correlations between the two tasks for each age group may be associated with age-related muscle changes. We provide evidence of partially shared biomechanics between swallowing and maximum pitch elevation.

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Inefficient Encoding as an Explanation for Age-Related Deficits in Recollection-Based Processing

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027/0269-8803/a000122 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 148-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

David Friedman ◽

Ray Johnson

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Young Adults ◽

Cognitive Processes ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Semantic Retrieval ◽

Age Related ◽

The Face ◽

Episodic Memories

A cardinal feature of aging is a decline in episodic memory (EM). Nevertheless, there is evidence that some older adults may be able to “compensate” for failures in recollection-based processing by recruiting brain regions and cognitive processes not normally recruited by the young. We review the evidence suggesting that age-related declines in EM performance and recollection-related brain activity (left-parietal EM effect; LPEM) are due to altered processing at encoding. We describe results from our laboratory on differences in encoding- and retrieval-related activity between young and older adults. We then show that, relative to the young, in older adults brain activity at encoding is reduced over a brain region believed to be crucial for successful semantic elaboration in a 400–1,400-ms interval (left inferior prefrontal cortex, LIPFC; Johnson, Nessler, & Friedman, 2013 ; Nessler, Friedman, Johnson, & Bersick, 2007 ; Nessler, Johnson, Bersick, & Friedman, 2006 ). This reduced brain activity is associated with diminished subsequent recognition-memory performance and the LPEM at retrieval. We provide evidence for this premise by demonstrating that disrupting encoding-related processes during this 400–1,400-ms interval in young adults affords causal support for the hypothesis that the reduction over LIPFC during encoding produces the hallmarks of an age-related EM deficit: normal semantic retrieval at encoding, reduced subsequent episodic recognition accuracy, free recall, and the LPEM. Finally, we show that the reduced LPEM in young adults is associated with “additional” brain activity over similar brain areas as those activated when older adults show deficient retrieval. Hence, rather than supporting the compensation hypothesis, these data are more consistent with the scaffolding hypothesis, in which the recruitment of additional cognitive processes is an adaptive response across the life span in the face of momentary increases in task demand due to poorly-encoded episodic memories.

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Mechanism of Sequential Swallowing During Straw Drinking in Healthy Young and Older Adults

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/1092-4388(2004/004) ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 47 (1) ◽

pp. 33-45 ◽

Cited By ~ 65

Author(s):

Stephanie K. Daniels ◽

David M. Corey ◽

Leslie D. Hadskey ◽

Calli Legendre ◽

Daniel H. Priestly ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Young Adults ◽

Movement Patterns ◽

Leading Edge ◽

Normal Aging ◽

Significant Relation ◽

Age Related ◽

Laryngeal Penetration ◽

Airway Invasion ◽

Edge Location

Recent research has revealed differences between isolated and sequential swallowing in healthy young adults; however, the influence of normal aging on sequential swallowing has not been studied. Thus, the purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of normal aging on deglutition during sequential straw drinking. Videofluoroscopic samples of two 10-s straw drinking trials were obtained for 20 healthy young men (age 29±3 years) and 18 healthy older men (age 69±7 years). Hyolaryngeal complex (HLC) movement patterns, leading edge of the bolus location at swallow onset, and occurrences of airway invasion were determined. Two HLC patterns were identified: (a) HLC lowering with the epiglottis returned to upright between swallows and (b) partially maintained HLC elevation with the epiglottis inverted between swallows. The bolus was frequently in the hypopharynx at swallow onset. Strong associations were identified between age and HLC pattern, age and leading edge of the bolus location, and HLC pattern and leading edge location. Laryngeal penetration was uncommon overall; however, it occurred more frequently in the older adults than in the young adults. A significant relation was identified between age and the average Penetration-Aspiration Scale score. Laryngeal penetration was associated with both HLC movement patterns and hypopharyngeal bolus location, particularly in older adults. Results indicate that subtle age-related differences are evident in healthy young and older adults with sequential straw drinking. These data suggest that specific inherent swallowing patterns may increase the risk of laryngeal penetration with normal aging.

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Processing gender stereotypes in dementia patients and older healthy adults: a self-paced reading study

Linguistics Vanguard ◽

10.1515/lingvan-2018-0029 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (s2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Daniel Müller-Feldmeth ◽

Katharina Ahnefeld ◽

Adriana Hanulíková

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Young Adults ◽

Sentence Processing ◽

Gender Stereotypes ◽

Time Course ◽

Healthy Adults ◽

Control Group ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Dementia Patients ◽

Age Related

AbstractWe used self-paced reading to examine whether stereotypical associations of verbs with women or men as prototypical agents (e.g. the craftsman knits a sweater) are activated during sentence processing in dementia patients and healthy older adults. Effects of stereotypical knowledge on language processing have frequently been observed in young adults, but little is known about age-related changes in the activation and integration of stereotypical information. While syntactic processing may remain intact, semantic capacities are often affected in dementia. Since inferences based on gender stereotypes draw on social and world knowledge, access to stereotype information may also be affected in dementia patients. Results from dementia patients (n = 9, average age 86.6) and healthy older adults (n = 14, average age 79.5) showed slower reading times and less accuracy in comprehension scores for dementia patients compared to the control group. While activation of stereotypical associations of verbs was visible in both groups, they differed with respect to the time-course of processing. The effect of stereotypes on comprehension accuracy was visible for healthy adults only. The evidence from reading times suggests that older adults with and without dementia engage stereotypical inferences during reading, which is in line with research on young adults.

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Systematic review and meta-analysis of age-related differences in instructed emotion regulation success

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.6051 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. e6051 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Brooke Brady ◽

Ian I. Kneebone ◽

Nida Denson ◽

Phoebe E. Bailey

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Young Adults ◽

Emotion Regulation ◽

Process Model ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Cognitive Change ◽

Emotional Behavior ◽

Response Modulation ◽

Age Related ◽

Process Strategy

The process model of emotion regulation (ER) is based on stages in the emotion generative process at which regulation may occur. This meta-analysis examines age-related differences in the subjective, behavioral, and physiological outcomes of instructed ER strategies that may be initiated after an emotional event has occurred; attentional deployment, cognitive change, and response modulation. Within-process strategy, stimulus type, and valence were also tested as potential moderators of the effect of age on ER. A systematic search of the literature identified 156 relevant comparisons from 11 studies. Few age-related differences were found. In our analysis of the subjective outcome of response modulation strategies, young adults used expressive enhancement successfully (g = 0.48), but not expressive suppression (g = 0.04). Response modulation strategies had a small positive effect among older adults, and enhancement vs suppression did not moderate this success (g = 0.31 and g = 0.10, respectively). Young adults effectively used response modulation to regulate subjective emotion in response to pictures (g = 0.41) but not films (g = 0.01). Older adults were able to regulate in response to both pictures (g = 0.26) and films (g = 0.11). Interestingly, both age groups effectively used detached reappraisal, but not positive reappraisal to regulate emotional behavior. We conclude that, in line with well-established theories of socioemotional aging, there is a lack of evidence for age differences in the effects of instructed ER strategies, with some moderators suggesting more consistent effectiveness for older compared to younger adults.

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Electrophysiological Evidence for Preserved Primacy of Lexical Prediction in Normative Aging

10.31234/osf.io/g9368 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Shruti Dave ◽

Trevor A. Brothers ◽

Matthew J. Traxler ◽

Fernanda Ferreira ◽

John M. Henderson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Young Adults ◽

Prediction Accuracy ◽

Predictive Accuracy ◽

Accurate Prediction ◽

Self Report ◽

Clear Cut ◽

Age Related ◽

Contextual Support ◽

Normative Aging

Young adults show consistent neural benefits of predictable contexts when processing upcoming words, but these benefits are less clear-cut in older adults. Here we conduct two ERP experiments to examine whether aging uniquely affects neural correlates of prediction accuracy, as compared to contextual support independent of accuracy. In Experiment 1, readers were asked to predict sentence-final words and self-report prediction accuracy, allowing for separation of ERP effects of accurate prediction and contextual support. While N250 and N400 effects of accurate prediction were reduced in older readers, both temporal primacy and relative amplitudes of predictive compared to contextual processing were similar across age. In Experiment 2, participants read for comprehension without an overt prediction task and showed similar age-related declines in N400 amplitude across experiments. In both studies, older adults showed relatively larger frontal post-N400 positivities (PNPs) than young adults, suggesting age-graded differences in revision following unexpected items. Previous research suggests the production system may be linked to lexical prediction, but here we found that verbal fluency modulated PNP effects of contextual support, but not predictive accuracy. Taken together, our findings suggest that normative aging does not result in specific declines or boosts of lexical prediction.

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