Spatial memory in Canadian and Indian young and older adults: the effects of age, culture and cultural orientation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khushi Patel

Cross-cultural research suggests that individualistic Americans have a tendency to process focal objects; in contrast, collectivist Asians have a tendency to bind objects and context (Park & Huang, 2010). However, little is known whether the reported cultural differences are moderated by cultural orientation. In light of these results and the well-reported age-related decline in binding abilities, the current study examined cultural and age differences in cultural orientation, spatial memory and strategy use with young and older Canadian and Indian adults. There was little difference between Canadian and Indian participants’ cultural orientation. While cultural orientation did not moderate the relationship between culture and spatial memory, spatial memory and strategy use differed as a function of age. The use of context-specific strategies resulted in performance gains in older adults, however overall older adults had poor spatial memory, with Indian older adults scoring significantly lower than Canadian older adults on the courtyard task.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khushi Patel

Cross-cultural research suggests that individualistic Americans have a tendency to process focal objects; in contrast, collectivist Asians have a tendency to bind objects and context (Park & Huang, 2010). However, little is known whether the reported cultural differences are moderated by cultural orientation. In light of these results and the well-reported age-related decline in binding abilities, the current study examined cultural and age differences in cultural orientation, spatial memory and strategy use with young and older Canadian and Indian adults. There was little difference between Canadian and Indian participants’ cultural orientation. While cultural orientation did not moderate the relationship between culture and spatial memory, spatial memory and strategy use differed as a function of age. The use of context-specific strategies resulted in performance gains in older adults, however overall older adults had poor spatial memory, with Indian older adults scoring significantly lower than Canadian older adults on the courtyard task.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 119-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrike K. Blumenfeld ◽  
Scott R. Schroeder ◽  
Susan C. Bobb ◽  
Max R. Freeman ◽  
Viorica Marian

Abstract Recent research suggests that bilingual experience reconfigures linguistic and nonlinguistic cognitive processes. We examined the relationship between linguistic competition resolution and nonlinguistic cognitive control in younger and older adults who were either bilingual or monolingual. Participants heard words in English and identified the referent among four pictures while eye-movements were recorded. Target pictures (e.g., cab) appeared with a phonological competitor picture (e.g., cat) and two filler pictures. After each eye-tracking trial, priming probes assessed residual activation and inhibition of target and competitor words. When accounting for processing speed, results revealed that age-related changes in activation and inhibition are smaller in bilinguals than in monolinguals. Moreover, younger and older bilinguals, but not monolinguals, recruited similar inhibition mechanisms during word identification and during a nonlinguistic Stroop task. Results suggest that, during lexical access, bilinguals show more consistent competition resolution and recruitment of cognitive control across the lifespan than monolinguals.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladislava Segen

The current study investigated a systematic bias in spatial memory in which people, following a perspective shift from encoding to recall, indicated the location of an object further to the direction of the shit. In Experiment 1, we documented this bias by asking participants to encode the position of an object in a virtual room and then indicate it from memory following a perspective shift induced by camera translation and rotation. In Experiment 2, we decoupled the influence of camera translations and camera rotations and examined also whether adding more information in the scene would reduce the bias. We also investigated the presence of age-related differences in the precision of object location estimates and the tendency to display the bias related to perspective shift. Overall, our results showed that camera translations led to greater systematic bias than camera rotations. Furthermore, the use of additional spatial information improved the precision with which object locations were estimated and reduced the bias associated with camera translation. Finally, we found that although older adults were as precise as younger participants when estimating object locations, they benefited less from additional spatial information and their responses were more biased in the direction of camera translations. We propose that accurate representation of camera translations requires more demanding mental computations than camera rotations, leading to greater uncertainty about the position of an object in memory. This uncertainty causes people to rely on an egocentric anchor thereby giving rise to the systematic bias in the direction of camera translation.


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1975
Author(s):  
Armanda Teixeira-Gomes ◽  
Blanca Laffon ◽  
Vanessa Valdiglesias ◽  
Johanna M. Gostner ◽  
Thomas Felder ◽  
...  

Ageing is accompanied with a decline in several physiological systems. Frailty is an age-related syndrome correlated to the loss of homeostasis and increased vulnerability to stressors, which is associated with increase in the risk of disability, comorbidity, hospitalisation, and death in older adults. The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between frailty syndrome, immune activation, and oxidative stress. Serum concentrations of vitamins A and E were also evaluated, as well as inflammatory biomarkers (CRP and IL-6) and oxidative DNA levels. A group of Portuguese older adults (≥65 years old) was engaged in this study and classified according to Fried’s frailty phenotype. Significant increases in the inflammatory mediators (CRP and IL-6), neopterin levels, kynurenine to tryptophan ratio (Kyn/Trp), and phenylalanine to tyrosine ratio (Phe/Tyr), and significant decreases in Trp and Tyr concentrations were observed in the presence of frailty. IL-6, neopterin, and Kyn/Trp showed potential as predictable biomarkers of frailty syndrome. Several clinical parameters such as nutrition, dependency scales, and polypharmacy were related to frailty and, consequently, may influence the associations observed. Results obtained show a progressive immune activation and production of pro-inflammatory molecules in the presence of frailty, agreeing with the inflammageing model. Future research should include different dimensions of frailty, including psychological, social, biological, and environmental factors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-107
Author(s):  
Reona Chiba ◽  
Yuki Ohashi ◽  
Akiko Ozaki

Purpose Several epidemiological studies have reported an age-related increase in the prevalence of sleep disturbances. This study aims to investigate the relationship between sleep and sarcopenia/frailty in older adults and clarify issues that remain to be addressed in future studies. Design/methodology/approach PubMed was searched for relevant studies with the following keywords in the title: “sleep” and “sarcopenia” or “sleep” and “frailty.” A total of 15 studies published in English between 1998 and 2018 were reviewed. Findings Among the four studies that examined the relationship between sarcopenia and sleep, two reported that long or short sleep duration increased the risk of sarcopenia and this association was more pronounced in women than men. Among the seven studies examining the relationship between frailty and sleep, four reported that higher Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores were associated with an increased risk of frailty. Practical implications Most previous studies have focused on interventions targeting a single area such as muscle strength or exercise habits, in older adults at risk for frailty. The results suggest that interventions targeting improved sleep may positively impact the maintenance of muscle strength. Originality/value The literature review revealed that too much or too little sleep increases the risk of sarcopenia in older adults. Further, sleep deprivation, greater night-time wakefulness and reduced sleep quality increase the risk of frailty. Interestingly, the risk of mortality is increased in individuals with daytime functional disorders such as excessive drowsiness or napping habits.


2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHAWNDA LANTING ◽  
NICOLE HAUGRUD ◽  
MARGARET CROSSLEY

AbstractPast research has been inconsistent with regard to the effects of normal aging and sex on strategy use during verbal fluency performance. In the present study, both Troyer et al.’s (1997) and Abwender et al.’s (2001) scoring methods were used to measure switching and clustering strategies in 60 young and 72 older adults, equated on verbal ability. Young adults produced more words overall and switched more often during both phonemic and semantic fluency tasks, but performed similarly to older adults on measures of clustering. Although there were no sex differences in total words produced on either fluency task, males produced larger clusters on both tasks, and females switched more frequently than males on the semantic but not on the phonemic fluency task. Although clustering strategies appear to be relatively age-insensitive, age-related changes in switching strategies resulted in fewer overall words produced by older adults. This study provides evidence of age and sex differences in strategy use during verbal fluency tests, and illustrates the utility of combining Troyer’s and Abwender’s scoring procedures with in-depth categorization of clustering to understand interactions between age and sex during semantic fluency tasks. (JINS, 2009, 15, 196–204.)


Author(s):  
Julian Sanchez ◽  
Gina Calcaterra ◽  
Quan Q. Tran

To achieve an appropriate level of reliance on an automated system, the operator must have an accurate system representation such that he/she is aware of the capabilities and limitations of the system. The appropriate use of an automated system can lead to optimal performance by the human-machine dyad. This study investigates the relationship between an accurate system representation and behaviors associated with human-automation interaction (e.g., reliance). Furthermore, age-related effects are also included in the investigation. A cooking memory aid (Cook's Collage) is used as an automated aid that keeps track of the ingredients used in a specific recipe. Participants are asked to interact with the automated device for 5 sessions (each on different days). Tasks are structured to simulate those in a real kitchen. Preliminary results suggest that that there is a different pattern of interaction with the aid as a function of age. Older adults tend to rely on the aid for real-time feedback while younger adults use the aid as a verification tool that they have executed the recipe as desired.


2003 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reinhold Vieth ◽  
Yasmin Ladak ◽  
Paul G. Walfish

Vitamin D requirements are thought to vary with age, but there is little comparative evidence for this. One goal in establishing a vitamin D requirement is to avoid secondary hyperparathyroidism. We studied 1741 euthyroid, thyroid clinic outpatients without evidence of calcium abnormalities, ranging in age from 19 to 97 yr, whose serum and urine had been analyzed for calcium, vitamin D, and parathyroid status. We found no effect of age on the 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration associated with specific vitamin D intakes, and there was no relationship between 25(OH)D and 1,25hydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D]. In every age group, serum 1,25(OH)2D declined with increasing creatinine (P < 0.001). What changed with age included creatinine, which correlated with 25(OH)D (r = 0.146, P < 0.001) only in the youngest age group (19–50 yr) but not in the older age groups (P > 0.1). Creatinine did not correlate with PTH in the youngest age group, but the relationship became significant as age increased (e.g. for the elderly, r = 0.365, P < 0.001). Linear regression of log PTH vs. log 25(OH)D agreed with the natural shape of the relationship observed with scatterplot smoothing, and this showed no plateau in PTH as 25(OH)D increased. We compared PTH concentrations among age groups, based on 20 nmol/liter increments in 25(OH)D. Mean PTH in adults older than 70 yr was consistently higher than in adults younger than 50 yr (P < 0.05 by ANOVA and Dunnett’s t test). PTH levels of the elderly who had 25(OH)D concentrations greater than 100 nmol/liter matched PTH of younger adults having 25(OH)D concentrations near 70 nmol/liter. This study shows that all age groups exhibit a high prevalence of 25(OH)D insufficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism. Older adults are just as efficient in maintaining 25(OH)D, but they need more vitamin D to produce the higher 25(OH)D concentrations required to overcome the hyperparathyroidism associated with their diminishing renal function.


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