scholarly journals Older Adults Encode Task-Irrelevant Stimuli, but Can This Side-Effect be Useful to Them?

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsófia Anna Gaál ◽  
Boglárka Nagy ◽  
Domonkos File ◽  
István Czigler
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Side Effect ◽  
Encode Task ◽  
Task Irrelevant

Hearing impairments and their treatments

2017 ◽  
pp. 1171-1176
Author(s):  
Sara K. Mamo ◽  
Theresa H. Chisolm ◽  
Frank R. Lin
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Side Effect ◽  
Care Management ◽  
Geriatric Care ◽  
Hearing Impairments ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Hearing Loss ◽  
Primary Care Management

Hearing loss is highly prevalent and increases as a function of age. Although hearing loss affects many aspects of ageing and communication, it is often overlooked and treated as a rather inconsequential side effect of ageing. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce age-related hearing loss, the broader implications of age-related hearing loss as it relates to healthy ageing, and practical strategies for primary care management of hearing loss. A majority of the cases of age-related hearing loss remain untreated. Primary and/or geriatric care clinics may serve as the entry point for many older adults with hearing loss. Including questions about hearing loss or screening for hearing loss at other health encounters may increase access for older adults to hearing loss treatment.

scholarly journals Exploring attentional focus of older adult fallers during heightened postural threat

2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (7) ◽  
pp. 1877-1889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toby J. Ellmers ◽  
Adam J. Cocks ◽  
William R. Young
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Attentional Processing ◽  
Attentional Resources ◽  
Behavioral Adaptations ◽  
Regulatory Strategies ◽  
Postural Threat ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
And Control

Abstract Objectives Threats to balance, and subsequent increases in fall-related anxiety, can disrupt attentional processing during gait in older adults, leading to behavioral adaptations which may increase fall risk. However, limited research has investigated what changes in attention occur to contribute to these disruptions. The aim of this research was to describe changes in attention that occur during gait when older adults’ balance is threatened, while exploring how previous fall history and trait movement reinvestment (conscious monitoring and control of movement) also influence attention. Methods Forty older adults reported where they focus their attention when walking during two scenarios: (1) when they are relaxed and there is little risk of falling, and; (2) when their balance is threatened and they are anxious of falling. Results During the high-threat condition, participants reported greater attention towards movement processes, threats to balance, worries/disturbing thoughts and self-regulatory strategies, with less attention directed towards task-irrelevant thoughts. However, fall history influenced attentional focus, with fallers directing greater attention towards worries/disturbing thoughts. Contrary to predictions, trait movement reinvestment was not associated with attention directed towards movement processes. Discussion As processing worries/disturbing thoughts will likely reduce attentional resources available for effective postural control, we highlight this as one potential area to target interventions aimed at reducing the likelihood of repeated falling.

scholarly journals The Dissociation between Early and Late Selection in Older Adults

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (12) ◽  
pp. 2189-2206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany R. Alperin ◽  
Anna E. Haring ◽  
Tatyana Y. Zhuravleva ◽  
Phillip J. Holcomb ◽  
Dorene M. Rentz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Neuropsychological Test ◽  
Early Selection ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Different Color ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Late Selection

Older adults exhibit a reduced ability to ignore task-irrelevant stimuli; however, it remains to be determined where along the information processing stream the most salient age-associated changes occur. In the current study, ERPs provided an opportunity to determine whether age-related differences in processing task-irrelevant stimuli were uniform across information processing stages or disproportionately affected either early or late selection. ERPs were measured in young and old adults during a color-selective attention task in which participants responded to target letters in a specified color (attend condition) while ignoring letters in a different color (ignore condition). Old participants were matched to two groups of young participants on the basis of neuropsychological test performance: one using age-appropriate norms and the other using test scores not adjusted for age. There were no age-associated differences in the magnitude of early selection (attend–ignore), as indexed by the size of the anterior selection positivity and posterior selection negativity. During late selection, as indexed by P3b amplitude, both groups of young participants generated neural responses to target letters under the attend versus ignore conditions that were highly differentiated. In striking contrast, old participants generated a P3b to target letters with no reliable differences between conditions. Individuals who were slow to initiate early selection appeared to be less successful at executing late selection. Despite relative preservation of the operations of early selection, processing delays may lead older participants to allocate excessive resources to task-irrelevant stimuli during late selection.

scholarly journals Aging and Sensitivity to Illusory Target Motion With or Without Secondary Tasks

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 227-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alix L. de Dieuleveult ◽  
Anne-Marie Brouwer ◽  
Petra C. Siemonsma ◽  
Jan B. F. van Erp ◽  
Eli Brenner
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Secondary Tasks ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
The Right ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Background Motion

Older individuals seem to find it more difficult to ignore inaccurate sensory cues than younger individuals. We examined whether this could be quantified using an interception task. Twenty healthy young adults (age 18–34) and twenty-four healthy older adults (age 60–82) were asked to tap on discs that were moving downwards on a screen with their finger. Moving the background to the left made the discs appear to move more to the right. Moving the background to the right made them appear to move more to the left. The discs disappeared before the finger reached the screen, so participants had to anticipate how the target would continue to move. We examined how misjudging the disc’s motion when the background moves influenced tapping. Participants received veridical feedback about their performance, so their sensitivity to the illusory motion indicates to what extent they could ignore the task-irrelevant visual information. We expected older adults to be more sensitive to the illusion than younger adults. To investigate whether sensorimotor or cognitive load would increase this sensitivity, we also asked participants to do the task while standing on foam or counting tones. Background motion influenced older adults more than younger adults. The secondary tasks did not increase the background’s influence. Older adults might be more sensitive to the moving background because they find it more difficult to ignore irrelevant sensory information in general, but they may rely more on vision because they have less reliable proprioceptive and vestibular information.

scholarly journals Role of GandharvaHasta Tail in Geriatric Constipation - A Case Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (06) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kranti N. Khekale
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Side Effect ◽  
Single Case ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Sweet Taste ◽  
Over The Counter ◽  
Evidence Based Treatment ◽  
Common Complaint

Constipation is a common complaint in older adults. Although constipation is not a physiologic consequence of normal aging, decreased mobility and other medical conditions may contribute to its increased prevalence in older adults. The prevalence of constipation rises dramatically with age, with some estimates approaching 50% among adults over 80 years of age. There are a variety of over-the-counter and prescription laxatives available for the treatment of constipation. There are many laxatives sold in the market. They have not been studied in controlled trials to make a recommendation. Its side effect may be harmful to patient. There is no one best evidence-based treatment for chronic constipation in the elderly. this study, shows single case of geriatric patient suffering from constipation wherein  Gandharvahasta tailwas given 10ml orally. The reference of Gandharvahasta tail is  Bhaishajya Ratanavali. Gandharvahasta tail acts as mild laxative with sweet taste, pleasant smell. Gandharvahasta Tail shows significant result with no side effect. It is easily palatable so there is no compliant for taking medicine.

scholarly journals Effects of age on goal-dependent modulation of episodic memory retrieval

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabina Srokova ◽  
Paul F. Hill ◽  
Rachael L. Elward ◽  
Michael D. Rugg
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Source Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Location Task ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Scene Information ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Spatial Locations ◽  
Parahippocampal Place Area

AbstractRetrieval gating refers to the ability to modulate the retrieval of features of a single memory episode according to behavioral goals. Recent findings demonstrate that younger adults engage retrieval gating by attenuating the representation of task-irrelevant features of an episode. Here, we examine whether retrieval gating varies with age. Younger and older adults incidentally encoded words superimposed over scenes or scrambled backgrounds that were displayed in one of three spatial locations. Participants subsequently underwent fMRI as they completed two memory tasks: the background task, which tested memory for the word’s background, and the location task, testing memory for the word’s location. Employing univariate and multivariate approaches, we demonstrated that younger, but not older adults, exhibited attenuated reinstatement of scene information when it was goal-irrelevant (during the location task). Additionally, in younger adults only, the strength of scene reinstatement in the parahippocampal place area during the background task was related to item and source memory performance. Together, these findings point to an age-related decline in the ability to engage retrieval gating.

Spontaneous Distractor Reactivation With Age: Evidence for Bound Target-Distractor Representations in Memory

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 1315-1324
Author(s):  
Tarek Amer ◽  
K. W. Joan Ngo ◽  
Jennifer C. Weeks ◽  
Lynn Hasher
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Irrelevant Information ◽  
Distractor Word ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Incoming Information ◽  
Memory Representations ◽  
Task Irrelevant

Reduced attentional control with age is associated with the processing and maintenance of task-irrelevant information in memory. Yet the nature of these memory representations remains unclear. We present evidence that, relative to younger adults ( n = 48), older adults ( n = 48) both (a) store simultaneously presented target and irrelevant information as rich, bound memory representations and (b) spontaneously reactivate irrelevant information when presented with previously associated targets. In a three-stage implicit reactivation paradigm, re-presenting a target picture that was previously paired with a distractor word spontaneously reactivated the previously associated word, making it become more accessible than an unreactivated distractor word in a subsequent implicit memory task. The accessibility of reactivated words, indexed by priming, was also greater than the degree of distractor priming shown by older adults in a control condition ( n = 48). Thus, reduced attentional control influences the processing and representation of incoming information.

scholarly journals Depression, antidepressants and fall risk: therapeutic dilemmas—a clinical review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. P. van Poelgeest ◽  
A. C. Pronk ◽  
D. Rhebergen ◽  
N. van der Velde
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Clinical Review ◽  
Side Effect ◽  
Fall Risk ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Side Effect Profile ◽  
Antidepressant Use

Abstract Purpose The aim of this clinical review was to summarize the existing knowledge on fall risk associated with antidepressant use in older adults, describe underlying mechanisms, and assist clinicians in decision-making with regard to (de-) prescribing antidepressants in older persons. Methodology We comprehensively examined the literature based on a literature search in Pubmed and Google Scholar, and identified additional relevant articles from reference lists, with an emphasis on the most commonly prescribed drugs in depression in geriatric patients. We discuss use of antidepressants, potential fall-related side effects, and deprescribing of antidepressants in older persons. Results Untreated depression and antidepressant use both contribute to fall risk. Antidepressants are equally effective, but differ in fall-related side effect profile. They contribute to (or cause) falling through orthostatic hypotension, sedation/impaired attention, hyponatremia, movement disorder and cardiac toxicity. Falling is an important driver of morbidity and mortality and, therefore, requires prevention. If clinical condition allows, withdrawal of antidepressants is recommended in fall-prone elderly persons. An important barrier is reluctance of prescribers to deprescribe antidepressants resulting from fear of withdrawal symptoms or disease relapse/recurrence, and the level of complexity of deprescribing antidepressants in older persons with multiple comorbidities and medications. Practical resources and algorithms are available that guide and assist clinicians in deprescribing antidepressants. Conclusions (De-) prescribing antidepressants in fall-prone older adults is often challenging, but detailed insight in fall-related side effect profile of the different antidepressants and a recently developed expert-based decision aid STOPPFalls assists prescribers in clinical decision-making.

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