scholarly journals Neuromuscular Age-Related Adjustment of Gait When Moving Upwards and Downwards

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur H. Dewolf ◽  
Francesca Sylos-Labini ◽  
Germana Cappellini ◽  
Dmitry Zhvansky ◽  
Patrick A. Willems ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Neuromuscular Control ◽  
Negative Slope ◽  
Centre Of Mass ◽  
Lower Limb Muscles ◽  
Transition Strategy ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Support Surfaces ◽  
Step Transition ◽  
Full Body

Locomotor movements are accommodated to various surface conditions by means of specific locomotor adjustments. This study examined underlying age-related differences in neuromuscular control during level walking and on a positive or negative slope, and during stepping upstairs and downstairs. Ten elderly and eight young adults walked on a treadmill at two different speeds and at three different inclinations (0°, +6°, and −6°). They were also asked to ascend and descend stairs at self-selected speeds. Full body kinematics and surface electromyography of 12 lower-limb muscles were recorded. We compared the intersegmental coordination, muscle activity, and corresponding modifications of spinal motoneuronal output in young and older adults. Despite great similarity between the neuromuscular control of young and older adults, our findings highlight subtle age-related differences in all conditions, potentially reflecting systematic age-related adjustments of the neuromuscular control of locomotion across various support surfaces. The main distinctive feature of walking in older adults is a significantly wider and earlier activation of muscles innervated by the sacral segments. These changes in neuromuscular control are reflected in a reduction or lack of propulsion observed at the end of stance in older adults at different slopes, with the result of a delay in the timing of redirection of the centre-of-mass velocity and of an unanticipated step-to-step transition strategy.

scholarly journals Age-related changes in the neuromuscular control of forward and backward locomotion

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0246372
Author(s):  
Arthur H. Dewolf ◽  
Francesca Sylos-Labini ◽  
Germana Cappellini ◽  
Yury Ivanenko ◽  
Francesco Lacquaniti
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Neuromuscular Control ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Intersegmental Coordination ◽  
Backward Walking ◽  
Lower Limb Muscles ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Spatiotemporal Parameters ◽  
Age Related Changes

Previous studies found significant modification in spatiotemporal parameters of backward walking in healthy older adults, but the age-related changes in the neuromuscular control have been considered to a lesser extent. The present study compared the intersegmental coordination, muscle activity and corresponding modifications of spinal montoneuronal output during both forward and backward walking in young and older adults. Ten older and ten young adults walked forward and backward on a treadmill at different speeds. Gait kinematics and EMG activity of 14 unilateral lower-limb muscles were recorded. As compared to young adults, the older ones used shorter steps, a more in-phase shank and foot motion, and the activity profiles of muscles innervated from the sacral segments were significantly wider in each walking condition. These findings highlight age-related changes in the neuromuscular control of both forward and backward walking. A striking feature of backward walking was the differential organization of the spinal output as compared to forward gait. In addition, the resulting spatiotemporal map patterns also characterized age-related changes of gait. Finally, modifications of the intersegmental coordination with aging were greater during backward walking. On the whole, the assessment of backward walk in addition to routine forward walk may help identifying or unmasking neuromuscular adjustments of gait to aging.

Effect of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Stretch Techniques on Trained and Untrained Older Adults

2002 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reed Ferber ◽  
Denise C. Gravelle ◽  
Louis R. Osternig
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Knee Joint ◽  
Neuromuscular Control ◽  
Knee Extension ◽  
Static Stretch ◽  
Joint Range Of Motion ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation ◽  
Stretch Condition ◽  
Joint Range

The effects of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) on joint range of motion (ROM) for older adults are unknown, and few studies have investigated changes in joint ROM associated with age. This study examined PNF stretch techniques' effects on knee-joint ROM in trained (T) and untrained (UT) older adults. Knee-joint ROM was tested in T and UT adults age 45–55 and 65–75 years using 3 PNF stretch techniques: static stretch (SS), contract-relax (CR). and agonist contract-relax (ACR). The 45–55 UT group achieved significantly more ROM than did the 65–75 UT group, suggesting an age-related decline in ROM. The 65–75 T group achieved significantly greater knee-extension ROM than did their UT counterparts, indicating a training-related response to PNF stretch techniques and that lifetime training might counteract age-related declines in joint ROM. The ACR-PNF stretch condition produced 4–6° more ROM than did CR and SS for all groups except the 65–75 UT group, possibly as a result of lack of neuromuscular control or muscle strength.

Age-Related Differences in Processing Dynamic Information to Identify Vowel Quality

1992 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 892-902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Allen Fox ◽  
Lida G. Wall ◽  
Jeanne Gokcen
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Vowel Quality ◽  
Perceptual Cues ◽  
Dynamic Information ◽  
Process Dynamic ◽  
Center Condition ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Control Version ◽  
Older Subjects ◽  
Whole Word

This study examined age-related differences in the use of dynamic acoustic information (in the form of formant transitions) to identify vowel quality in CVCs. Two versions of 61 naturally produced, commonly occurring, monosyllabic English words were created: a control version (the unmodified whole word) and a silent-center version (in which approximately 62% of the medial vowel was replaced by silence). A group of normal-hearing young adults (19–25 years old) and older adults (61–75 years old) identified these tokens. The older subjects were found to be significantly worse than the younger subjects at identifying the medial vowel and the initial and final consonants in the silent-center condition. These results support the hypothesis of an age-related decrement in the ability to process dynamic perceptual cues in the perception of vowel quality.

Activity Engagement in Cognitive Aging: A Review of the Evidence

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Rogalski ◽  
Muriel Quintana
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Omega 3 ◽  
Neuroprotective Effects ◽  
Activity Engagement ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Cognitive Decline

The population of older adults is rapidly increasing, as is the number and type of products and interventions proposed to prevent or reduce the risk of age-related cognitive decline. Advocacy and prevention are part of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA’s) scope of practice documents, and speech-language pathologists must have basic awareness of the evidence contributing to healthy cognitive aging. In this article, we provide a brief overview outlining the evidence on activity engagement and its effects on cognition in older adults. We explore the current evidence around the activities of eating and drinking with a discussion on the potential benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, alcohol, and coffee. We investigate the evidence on the hypothesized neuroprotective effects of social activity, the evidence on computerized cognitive training, and the emerging behavioral and neuroimaging evidence on physical activity. We conclude that actively aging using a combination of several strategies may be our best line of defense against cognitive decline.

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.

Age-Related Decline in Emotional Prosody Discrimination

2014 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel L. C. Mitchell ◽  
Rachel A. Kingston
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Duration Discrimination ◽  
Pitch Perception ◽  
Sensory Level ◽  
Emotional Prosody ◽  
Processing Stage ◽  
Acoustic Characteristics ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Level Of Processing

It is now accepted that older adults have difficulty recognizing prosodic emotion cues, but it is not clear at what processing stage this ability breaks down. We manipulated the acoustic characteristics of tones in pitch, amplitude, and duration discrimination tasks to assess whether impaired basic auditory perception coexisted with our previously demonstrated age-related prosodic emotion perception impairment. It was found that pitch perception was particularly impaired in older adults, and that it displayed the strongest correlation with prosodic emotion discrimination. We conclude that an important cause of age-related impairment in prosodic emotion comprehension exists at the fundamental sensory level of processing.

Age-Related Differences in Motivational Integration and Cognitive Control

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Marianne Yee ◽  
Sarah L Adams ◽  
Asad Beck ◽  
Todd Samuel Braver
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Monetary Reward ◽  
Potential Candidate ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Cognitive Task Performance

Motivational incentives play an influential role in value-based decision-making and cognitive control. A compelling hypothesis in the literature suggests that the brain integrates the motivational value of diverse incentives (e.g., motivational integration) into a common currency value signal that influences decision-making and behavior. To investigate whether motivational integration processes change during healthy aging, we tested older (N=44) and younger (N=54) adults in an innovative incentive integration task paradigm that establishes dissociable and additive effects of liquid (e.g., juice, neutral, saltwater) and monetary incentives on cognitive task performance. The results reveal that motivational incentives improve cognitive task performance in both older and younger adults, providing novel evidence demonstrating that age-related cognitive control deficits can be ameliorated with sufficient incentive motivation. Additional analyses revealed clear age-related differences in motivational integration. Younger adult task performance was modulated by both monetary and liquid incentives, whereas monetary reward effects were more gradual in older adults and more strongly impacted by trial-by-trial performance feedback. A surprising discovery was that older adults shifted attention from liquid valence toward monetary reward throughout task performance, but younger adults shifted attention from monetary reward toward integrating both monetary reward and liquid valence by the end of the task, suggesting differential strategic utilization of incentives. Together these data suggest that older adults may have impairments in incentive integration, and employ different motivational strategies to improve cognitive task performance. The findings suggest potential candidate neural mechanisms that may serve as the locus of age-related change, providing targets for future cognitive neuroscience investigations.

Internet Navigation Skills for Financial Management: Associations with Age, Neurocognitive Performance, and Functional Capacity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samina Rahman ◽  
Victoria Kordovski ◽  
Savanna Tierney ◽  
Steven Paul Woods
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Functional Capacity ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Internet Banking ◽  
Online Banking ◽  
Neurocognitive Performance ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Neurocognitive Functions ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Use Factors

Objective: Online banking is becoming increasingly common among older adults, whomay experience difficulties effectively navigating this instrumental technology. Thisstudy examined age effects on a performance-based Internet banking task and itsassociation with neurocognitive ability and functional capacity in older and youngeradults. Method: Thirty-five older adults and 50 younger adults completed anexperimenter-controlled online banking measure in which they independentlyperformed a series of naturalistic financial tasks (e.g., account transfers, bill paying).Participants also completed a standardized battery of neuropsychological tests andmeasures of functional capacity. Results: Older adults were markedly slower and lessaccurate in completing the Internet-based banking task, which was not confounded byother demographic, mood, or computer use factors. Higher scores on measures ofneurocognition and financial functional capacity were both strongly associated withhigher Internet-based banking task accuracy scores and quicker completion times inthe older, but not the younger adults. Conclusions: Findings suggest that older adultsexperience difficultly quickly and accurately navigating online banking platforms, whichmay be partly related to age-related declines in neurocognitive functions and basicfinancial capacity. Future studies might examine whether neurocognitive approaches toremediation and compensation can be used to improve online banking capacity inolder adults.

scholarly journals Reduced Achilles Tendon Stiffness Disrupts Calf Muscle Neuromechanics in Elderly Gait

Gerontology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Krupenevich ◽  
Owen N. Beck ◽  
Gregory S. Sawicki ◽  
Jason R. Franz
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Achilles Tendon ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Calf Muscle ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Joint Work ◽  
Tendon Stiffness ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Ankle Muscle ◽  
Metabolic Energy Expenditure

Older adults walk slower and with a higher metabolic energy expenditure than younger adults. In this review, we explore the hypothesis that age-related declines in Achilles tendon stiffness increase the metabolic cost of walking due to less economical calf muscle contractions and increased proximal joint work. This viewpoint may motivate interventions to restore ankle muscle-tendon stiffness, improve walking mechanics, and reduce metabolic cost in older adults.

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