scholarly journals Neural Correlates of Age-Related Changes in Precise Grip Force Regulation: A Combined EEG-fNIRS Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisa Berger ◽  
Fabian Steinberg ◽  
Fabian Thomas ◽  
Michael Doppelmayr
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Motor Control ◽  
Force Control ◽  
Grip Force ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Dominant Hand ◽  
Grip Force Control ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes

Motor control is associated with suppression of oscillatory activity in alpha (8–12 Hz) and beta (12–30 Hz) ranges and elevation of oxygenated hemoglobin levels in motor-cortical areas. Aging leads to changes in oscillatory and hemodynamic brain activity and impairments in motor control. However, the relationship between age-related changes in motor control and brain activity is not yet fully understood. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate age-related and task-complexity-related changes in grip force control and the underlying oscillatory and hemodynamic activity. Sixteen younger [age (mean ± SD) = 25.4 ± 1.9, 20–30 years] and 16 older (age = 56.7 ± 4.7, 50–70 years) healthy men were asked to use a power grip to perform six trials each of easy and complex force tracking tasks (FTTs) with their right dominant hand in a randomized within-subject design. Grip force control was assessed using a sensor-based device. Brain activity in premotor and primary motor areas of both hemispheres was assessed by electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Older adults showed significantly higher inaccuracies and higher hemodynamic activity in both FTTs than did young adults. Correlations between grip force control owing to task complexity and beta activity were different in the contralateral premotor cortex (PMC) between younger and older adults. Collectively, these findings suggest that aging leads to impairment of grip force control and an increase in hemodynamic activity independent of task complexity. EEG beta oscillations may represent a task-specific neurophysiological marker for age-related decline in complex grip force control and its underlying compensation strategies. Further EEG-fNIRS studies are necessary to determine neurophysiological markers of dysfunctions underlying age-related motor disabilities for the improvement of individual diagnosis and therapeutic approaches.

AGE-RELATED CHANGES OF GRIP FORCE CONTROL IN PHYSICALLY ACTIVE ADULTS1

2013 ◽  
pp. 130718095826009
Author(s):  
Renato Claudino ◽  
Giovana Z. Mazo ◽  
Marcio J. Santos
Keyword(s):  
Force Control ◽  
Grip Force ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Grip Force Control ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes

Age-Related Changes of Grip Force Control in Physically Active Adults

2013 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 859-871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renato Claudino ◽  
Giovana Z. Mazo ◽  
Marcio J. Santos
Keyword(s):  
Force Control ◽  
Grip Force ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Grip Force Control ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Active Adults ◽  
Age Related Changes

Grip Force Control Capabilities of Older Adults, Revisited

1999 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-102
Author(s):  
Brian D. Lowe ◽  
Andris Freivalds ◽  
Joseph H. Goldberg
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Force Control ◽  
Grip Force ◽  
Grip Force Control

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

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-161 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Resting‐State EEG Microstates Parallel Age‐Related Differences in Allocentric Spatial Working Memory Performance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeline Jabès ◽  
Giuliana Klencklen ◽  
Paolo Ruggeri ◽  
Christoph M. Michel ◽  
Pamela Banta Lavenex ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Age Related

AbstractAlterations of resting-state EEG microstates have been associated with various neurological disorders and behavioral states. Interestingly, age-related differences in EEG microstate organization have also been reported, and it has been suggested that resting-state EEG activity may predict cognitive capacities in healthy individuals across the lifespan. In this exploratory study, we performed a microstate analysis of resting-state brain activity and tested allocentric spatial working memory performance in healthy adult individuals: twenty 25–30-year-olds and twenty-five 64–75-year-olds. We found a lower spatial working memory performance in older adults, as well as age-related differences in the five EEG microstate maps A, B, C, C′ and D, but especially in microstate maps C and C′. These two maps have been linked to neuronal activity in the frontal and parietal brain regions which are associated with working memory and attention, cognitive functions that have been shown to be sensitive to aging. Older adults exhibited lower global explained variance and occurrence of maps C and C′. Moreover, although there was a higher probability to transition from any map towards maps C, C′ and D in young and older adults, this probability was lower in older adults. Finally, although age-related differences in resting-state EEG microstates paralleled differences in allocentric spatial working memory performance, we found no evidence that any individual or combination of resting-state EEG microstate parameter(s) could reliably predict individual spatial working memory performance. Whether the temporal dynamics of EEG microstates may be used to assess healthy cognitive aging from resting-state brain activity requires further investigation.

Anticipatory and Reactive Grip Force Control in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Anna Gabriel ◽  
Carolin T. Lehner ◽  
Chiara Höhler ◽  
Thomas Schneider ◽  
Tessa P.T. Pfeiffer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Force Control ◽  
Grip Force ◽  
Object Manipulation ◽  
Step Test ◽  
Grip Force Control ◽  
Potential Biomarker ◽  
Neurological Conditions

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects several cognitive functions and causes altered motor function. Fine motor deficits during object manipulation are evident in other neurological conditions, but have not been assessed in dementia patients yet. Objective: Investigate reactive and anticipatory grip force control in response to unexpected and expected load force perturbation in AD. Methods: Reactive and anticipatory grip force was investigated using a grip-device with force sensors. In this pilot study, fifteen AD patients and fourteen healthy controls performed a catching task. They held the device with one hand while a sandbag was dropped into an attached receptacle either by the experimenter or by the participant. Results: In contrast to studies of other neurological conditions, the majority of AD patients exerted lower static grip force levels than controls. Interestingly, patients who were slow in the Luria’s three-step test produced normal grip forces. The timing and magnitude of reactive grip force control were largely preserved in patients. In contrast, timing and extent of anticipatory grip forces were impaired in patients, although anticipatory control was generally preserved. These deficits were correlated with decreasing Mini-Mental State Examination scores. Apraxia scores, assessed by pantomime of tool-use, did not correlate with performance in the catching task. Conclusion: We interpreted the decreased grip force in AD in the context of loss of strength and lethargy, typical for patients with AD. The lower static grip force during object manipulation may emerge as a potential biomarker for early stages of AD, but more studies with larger sample sizes are necessary.

scholarly journals Age-Related Changes in Molecular and Whole Muscle Function: Role of Fat Content?

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 141-141
Author(s):  
Joseph Gordon III ◽  
Nicholas Remillard ◽  
Chad Straight ◽  
Rajakumar Nagarajan ◽  
Bruce Damon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Fat Content ◽  
Fat Deposition ◽  
Muscle Size ◽  
Type I ◽  
Contraction Velocity ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Whole Muscle ◽  
Age Related Changes

Abstract Decreases in muscle size and function are a general consequence of old age; the precise mechanisms of these changes remain unclear. Recent studies suggest that fat deposition in muscle may also contribute to dysfunction in older adults. Fat content was quantified in the quadriceps, and its effects on function in healthy young (21-45 y) and older (65-75 y) men and women (n=44) of comparable physical activity were compared. A subset of the young matched with the older group for muscle fat content were also examined. Peak fat-free whole muscle cross-sectional area (mCSA; cm2), volume (MV; cm3), fat content (fat fraction, FF; %), specific torque (Nm/mCSA) and peak contraction velocity (Nm∙s-1) were determined using fat-water magnetic resonance imaging and dynamometry (0-300□∙s-1). To examine potential molecular mechanisms of muscle weakness, vastus lateralis biopsies were obtained (n=31) and cross-bridge kinetics of type I and II fibers were determined. FF was higher in older adults than young (8.4±1.2% (SE), 7.6±1.4; p=0.03), while mCSA (48.9±10.4 vs. 64.2±17.3), MV (1536±532 vs. 2112±708), specific torque (2.6±0.4 vs. 3.2±0.4), and peak voluntary contraction velocity (422±20 vs. 441±23) were lower in older than young (p<0.01). Type II fiber myosin attachment rate was slower and attachment time longer in older muscle (p<0.017), providing a potential mechanism for the slowing of peak contraction velocity with age. Notably, differences at the whole muscle and molecular levels remained for the subset of young and older groups matched for FF, suggesting that fat deposition in muscle does not exacerbate age-related changes in function.

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

BMJ Open ◽  
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).

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