The Impact of Age-Related Changes on the Functioning of Older Adults with Developmental Disabilities

2020 ◽  
pp. 5-21
Author(s):  
Susan M. Nochajski
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Age Related Changes ◽  
Adults With Developmental Disabilities

The Relevance of Cognitive Aging Research to Warning Label Design

1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 1368-1368
Author(s):  
Gabriel K. Rousseau ◽  
Nina Lamson ◽  
Wendy A. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Color Discrimination ◽  
Warning Label ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Individual Difference Variables ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Age Related Changes

A variety of individual difference variables affect whether someone notices, encodes, comprehends, and complies with a product warning label. Failures at any of these stages reduce the effectiveness of warnings. Development of effective warnings must be based on understanding the characteristics of the product user. As the population grows older, consideration of age-related changes in perceptual and cognitive abilities becomes more relevant to the warning designer. Aging researchers have identified a variety of declines and changes in vision (e.g., acuity, contrast sensitivity, and color discrimination) and memory (e.g., working memory and prospective memory). By considering the abilities of the product user, the impact of age-related changes may be minimized. Based on cognitive aging research and theory, we will make recommendations about how designers can increase the effectiveness of warnings for older adults.

scholarly journals EXPRESS: Age-related changes in time perception: The impact of naturalistic environments and retrospective judgments on timing performance

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110233
Author(s):  
Martin Riemer ◽  
Thomas Wolbers ◽  
Hedderik van Rijn
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Time Perception ◽  
Ecological Validity ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Reduced Complexity ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Age Related Changes

Reduced timing abilities have been reported in older adults and are associated with pathological cognitive decline. However, time perception experiments often lack ecological validity. Especially the reduced complexity of experimental stimuli and the participants’ awareness of the time-related nature of the task can influence lab-assessed timing performance and thereby conceal age-related differences. An approximation of more naturalistic paradigms can provide important information about age-related changes in timing abilities. To determine the impact of higher ecological validity on timing experiments, we implemented a paradigm that allowed us to test (i) the effect of embedding the to-be-timed stimuli within a naturalistic visual scene, and (ii) the effect of retrospective time judgments, which are more common in real life than prospective judgments. The results show that, compared to out-of-context stimuli, younger adults benefit from a naturalistic embedding of stimuli (reflected in higher precision and less errors), whereas the performance of older adults is reduced when confronted with naturalistic stimuli. Differences between retrospective and prospective time judgments were not modulated by age. We conclude that, potentially driven by difficulties in suppressing temporally irrelevant environmental information, the contextual embedding of naturalistic stimuli can affect the degree to which age influences the performance in time perception tasks.

scholarly journals Understanding Older Adults' Memory Distortion in the Light of Stereotype Threat

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Mazerolle ◽  
Amy M. Smith ◽  
McKinzey Torrance ◽  
Ayanna K. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Stereotype Threat ◽  
Regulatory Focus ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Memory Distortion ◽  
Emotional Factor ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Age Related Changes

Numerous studies have documented the detrimental impact of age-based stereotype threat (ABST) on older adults' cognitive performance and especially on veridical memory. However, far fewer studies have investigated the impact of ABST on older adults' memory distortion. Here, we review the subset of research examining memory distortion and provide evidence for the role of stereotype threat as a powerful socio-emotional factor that impacts age-related susceptibility to memory distortion. In this review we define memory distortion as errors in memory that are associated with gist-based errors or source misattributions. Whereas, some of the reviewed experiments support the conclusion that ABST should be considered in the context of age-related differences in memory distortion, others reported little or no impact of stereotype threat. These discrepancies suggest that the role of ABST, and socio-emotional processes generally, in age-related changes in memory distortion are less clear. In this review, we argue that ABST does play an important role in age-related changes in memory distortion. We present evidence suggesting that discrepancies in the reviewed literature may be reconciled when evaluated in the context of the leading theories about stereotype threat: the Executive Resource Depletion hypothesis and the Regulatory Focus theory. We also discuss how differences in methodology and participant characteristics can account for a priori contradictory results in the literature. Finally, we propose some recommendations for researchers and practitioners when assessing memory in older adults.

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 Dual Effects of Hearing Loss and Dementia on Functional Limitations in Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 214-214
Author(s):  
Michael McKee ◽  
Yunshu Zhou ◽  
Joshua Ehrlich ◽  
Elham Mahmoudi ◽  
Jennifer Deal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Household Activity ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Lower Mobility ◽  
Independent Effects ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Age-related hearing loss (HL) is both common and associated with elevated risk for cognitive decline and poorer health. To care for an aging population, it is critical to understand the effect of coexisting HL and dementia on functional activities. The effect of co-existing dementia and self-reported HL on daily functioning were assessed. A cross-sectional analysis was performed using nationally-representative data from the 2015 National Health and Aging Trends Study consisting of U.S. adults 65+. The sample included 1,829 adults with HL (22.8%) and 5,338 adults without HL. Multivariable Poisson regression was used to model the independent effects and interaction of self-reported HL and dementia status on three validated functional activity scales (self-care, mobility, and household). All analyses adjusted for sociodemographic and medical factors. HL participants were more likely to be white, older, male, less educated (p <0.01). 8.4% had possible dementia and 6.5% had probable dementia. Respondents with HL or possible or probable dementia had significantly lower mobility, self-care, and household activity scores (p<.001 for all comparisons) compared to their peers. A small yet significant interaction was present in all models, suggesting that HL respondents with co-occurring dementia had lower mobility, self-care, and household activity scores than predicted by the independent effects of dementia and self-reported HL (p<.001 for all comparisons). Older adults with co-occurring dementia and HL are at increased risk for poor functioning and should be screened by healthcare providers. Future work should consider the impact of intervention in this vulnerable/at-risk population.

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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