scholarly journals Swimming as a Positive Moderator of Cognitive Aging: A Cross-Sectional Study with a Multitask Approach

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amira Abou-Dest ◽  
Cédric T. Albinet ◽  
Geoffroy Boucard ◽  
Michel Audiffren
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Potential Benefits

This study examined whether regular swimming in older adults was related to better cognitive functioning and whether there were any global or selective positive effects of this physical activity (PA) on cognition. The cognitive performances of three groups of sixteen volunteer participants (young adults, sedentary older adults, and older adults who regularly practice swimming) were evaluated using a multitask approach. All participants performed a battery of ten tasks: two reaction time tasks assessing information processing speed and eight experimental tasks assessing three executive functions (EFs), (behavioral inhibition, working memory updating, and cognitive flexibility). The results showed that young adults performed significantly better than older adults on all examined cognitive functions. However, in older adults, regular swimming was related to better performance on the three EFs, but not on information processing speed. More precisely, five experimental tasks out of the eight tapping EFs were shown to be sensitive to positive effects from swimming practice. Finally, the demonstrated benefits of swimming on EFs were not necessarily linked to better cardiorespiratory fitness. The present findings illustrate the validity of using a multitask approach in examining the potential benefits of regular PA on cognitive aging.

scholarly journals Cognitive Impairment in Opium Use Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Hossein Sanjari Moghaddam ◽  
Behrang Shadloo ◽  
Helen Shahkhah ◽  
Abbas Tafakhori ◽  
Maryam Haghshomar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Digit Symbol Substitution Test ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Opium Use

This cross-sectional study is aimed at assessing the effects of opium use disorder (OUD) on attention, working memory, and information-processing speed. Thirty outpatients with OUD and 20 healthy controls (HCs) were assessed using a neuropsychological battery consisted of Auditory Verbal Learning Test-Revised (AVLT-R), Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R), Digit Forward and Backward Tests (DFT and DBT), and WAIS-R Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). The most affected cognitive functions in patients with OUD were detected by DBT and DSST. However, we found no significant difference between patients according to the route of administration. Within patients with OUD, DBT score was associated with opium use quantity (OUQ) ( r = − 0.385 ), and DBT ( r = 0.483 ) and DSST ( r = 0.542 ) scores were correlated with duration of use. Our findings indicated that working memory and information-processing speed are the most affected domains of cognitive functioning. DBT and DSST could be used as brief assessments in clinical settings to screen for cognitive deficits in patients with OUD.

Reduced information processing speed as primum movens for cognitive decline in MS

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen Van Schependom ◽  
Marie B D’hooghe ◽  
Krista Cleynhens ◽  
Mieke D’hooge ◽  
Marie-Claire Haelewyck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Age At Onset ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Survival Curves ◽  
Cross Sectional

Background: Cognitive impairment affects half of the multiple sclerosis (MS) patient population and is an important contributor to patients’ daily activities. Most cognitive impairment studies in MS are, however, cross-sectional or/and focused on the early disease stages. Objective: We aim to assess the time course of decline of different cognitive domains. Methods: We collected neuropsychological data on 514 MS patients to construct Kaplan-Meier survival curves of the tests included in the Neuropsychological Screening Battery for MS (NSBMS) and the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). Cox-proportional hazard models were constructed to examine the influence of MS onset type, age at onset, gender, depression and level of education on the time course, expressed as age or disease. Results: Survival curves of tests focusing on information processing speed (IPS) declined significantly faster than tests with less specific demands of IPS. Median age for pathological decline was 56.2 years (95% CI: 54.4–58.2) on the SDMT and 63.9 years (95% CI: 60–66.9) on the CLTR, a memory task. Conclusion: In conclusion, IPS is the cognitive domain not only most widely affected by MS but it is also the first cognitive deficit to emerge in MS.

Kinematic Analysis of Dance-Based Exergaming: A Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest K. Ofori ◽  
Savitha Subramaniam ◽  
Shuaijie Wang ◽  
Tanvi Bhatt
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Postural Stability ◽  
Center Of Mass ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Aging Populations ◽  
Cortical Pathology

Background: Recent studies demonstrate improvements in both postural stability and mobility among aging populations and those with stroke who are exposed to dance-based exergaming (DBExG). However, age-related deficits and aging with cortical pathology may lead to distinct movement adaptation patterns during DBExG, which could impact therapeutic outcomes.Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the movement kinematics (postural stability and mobility) of healthy older adults, older adults with stroke, and young adults for different paces of dance during DBExG. Method: The study included 33 particpants (11 participant from each group of healthy older adults, older adults with chronic stroke, and healthy young adults) who performed the DBExG using slow- (SP), medium- (MP), and fast-paced (FP) songs with movements in the anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) directions. Center of mass (CoM) sway area, excursion (Ex), and peaks as well as hip, knee, and ankle joint excursions were computed. Results: Results of the study revealed that CoM sway areas and Exs were greater for healthy young adults than for older adults with stroke for the SP dance (p < 0.05) and that there were significantly more AP CoM peaks for young adults than for healthy older adults and those with stroke for the FP dance (p < 0.05). Young adults also exhibited greater hip and ankle Exs than older adults with stroke (p < 0.05) for all song paces. Similarly, knee and ankle Exs were greater for healthy older adults than for older adults with stroke for all song paces (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The quantitative evaluation and comparison of the movement patterns presented for the three groups could provide a foundation for both assessing and designing therapeutic DBExG protocols for these populations.

scholarly journals Information processing speed as a mediator between psychosocial stress and global cognition in older adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui F. Foong ◽  
Tengku A. Hamid ◽  
Rahimah Ibrahim ◽  
Sharifah A. Haron
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Global Cognition

scholarly journals Muscle Activation and Distribution during Four Test/Functional Tasks: A Comparison between Dry-Land and Aquatic Environments for Healthy Older and Young Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (13) ◽  
pp. 4696
Author(s):  
Ántonio Cuesta-Vargas ◽  
Jaime Martín-Martín ◽  
David Pérez-Cruzado ◽  
Carlos L. Cano-Herrera ◽  
Javier Güeita Rodríguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Muscle Activation ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Gait Initiation ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Dry Land ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Methods Analytical

Background: The use of rehabilitation protocols carried out in water has been progressively increasing due to the favorable physical properties of the water. Electromyography allows one to register muscle activity even under water. Aim: To compare muscle activity between two groups (healthy young adults (HYA) and healthy older adults (HOA)) in two different environments (dry land and aquatic) using surface electromyography during the execution of four different test/functional movements. Methods: Analytical cross-sectional study. HYA and HOA carried out four functional tasks (Step Up and Down, Sit TO Stand test, Gait Initiation and Turns During Gait) in two different environments (dry land and aquatic). Absolute and relative muscle activation was compared between each group and between each environment. In addition, the stability of the measured was calculated through a test-retest (ICC 2:1). Results: Within the same environment there were significant differences between young and older adults in three of the four functional tasks. In contrast, in the gait initiation, hardly any significant differences were found between the two groups analysed, except for the soleus and the anterior tibial. Measurement stability ranged from good to excellent. Conclusions: Level of the musculature involvement presents an entirely different distribution when the test/functional task is performed on dry land or in water. There are differences both in the relative activation of the musculature and in the distribution of the partition of the muscles comparing older and young adults within the same environment.

scholarly journals Predicting Academic Achievement with Cognitive Abilities: Cross-Sectional Study across School Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 158
Author(s):  
Tatiana Tikhomirova ◽  
Artem Malykh ◽  
Sergey Malykh
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Number Sense ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between cognitive abilities and academic achievement across schooling from the first to the eleventh grade was analyzed. Information processing speed, visuospatial working memory, number sense, and fluid intelligence were considered predictors of general academic achievement, which was derived from grades in mathematics, language, and biology. This cross-sectional study involved 1560 pupils who were in grades 1–11 at general education schools and were aged from 6.8 to 19.1 years (50.4% were boys). Information processing speed, visuospatial working memory, and number sense were measured using the Choice Reaction Time, Corsi Block-Tapping, and Number Sense computerized tests, respectively. Fluid intelligence was measured using the paper-and-pencil version of the Standard Progressive Matrices test. Correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were carried out. It was shown that it is possible to describe the structure of the relationship between cognitive abilities and academic achievement for all levels of schooling with a single model. In this model, information processing speed is the key predictor of fluid intelligence, working memory, and number sense, which in turn contribute to individual differences in academic success. Additionally, the specificity of the relationship between individual indicators of cognitive abilities and academic achievement at each level of schooling was revealed.

scholarly journals Positive Effects of Education on Cognitive Functioning Depend on Clinical Status and Neuropathological Severity

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle G. Jansen ◽  
Linda Geerligs ◽  
Jurgen A. H. R. Claassen ◽  
Eduard J. Overdorp ◽  
Inti A. Brazil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Clinical Status ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Positive Effects

Background: Variability in cognitive functions in healthy and pathological aging is often explained by educational attainment. However, it remains unclear to which extent different disease states alter protective effects of education. We aimed to investigate whether protective effects of education on cognition depend on (1) clinical diagnosis severity, and (2) the neuropathological burden within a diagnosis in a memory clinic setting.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included 108 patients with subjective cognitive decline [SCD, median age 71, IQR (66–78), 43% men], 190 with mild cognitive impairment [MCI, median age 78, IQR (73–82), 44% men], and 245 with Alzheimer’s disease dementia (AD) [median age 80, IQR (76–84), 35% men]. We combined visual ratings of hippocampal atrophy, global atrophy, and white matter hyperintensities on MRI into a single neuropathology score. To investigate whether the contribution of education to cognitive performance differed across SCD, MCI, and AD, we employed several multiple linear regression models, stratified by diagnosis and adjusted for age, sex, and neurodegeneration. We re-ran each model with an additional interaction term to investigate whether these effects were influenced by neuropathological burden for each diagnostic group separately. False discovery rate (FDR) corrections for multiple comparisons were applied.Results: We observed significant positive associations between education and performance for global cognition and executive functions (all adjusted p-values &lt; 0.05). As diagnosis became more severe, however, the strength of these associations decreased (all adjusted p-values &lt; 0.05). Education related to episodic memory only at relatively lower levels of neuropathology in SCD (β = −0.23, uncorrected p = 0.02), whereas education related to episodic memory in those with higher levels of neuropathology in MCI (β = 0.15, uncorrected p = 0.04). However, these interaction effects did not survive FDR-corrections.Conclusions: Altogether, our results demonstrated that positive effects of education on cognitive functioning reduce with diagnosis severity, but the role of neuropathological burden within a particular diagnosis was small and warrants further investigation. Future studies may further unravel the extent to which different dimensions of an individual’s disease severity contribute to the waxing and waning of protective effects in cognitive aging.

scholarly journals How Does Explicit Prioritization Alter Walking During Dual-Task Performance? Effects of Age and Sex on Gait Speed and Variability

2010 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galit Yogev-Seligmann ◽  
Yael Rotem-Galili ◽  
Anat Mirelman ◽  
Ruth Dickstein ◽  
Nir Giladi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Gait Speed ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Gait Variability ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Task Conditions

BackgroundPrevious studies have demonstrated that the performance of a secondary task during walking alters gait.ObjectiveThis study investigated the effects of task prioritization on walking in young and older adults to evaluate the “default” prioritization scheme used, the flexibility to alter prioritization and cortical resources allocated to gait and a secondary cognitive task, and any age-associated changes in these abilities.DesignA cross-sectional study that explicitly altered the focus of attention was used to investigate the effects of prioritization in young and older adults who were healthy.MethodsGait speed and gait variability were evaluated in young adults (n=40) and older adults (n=17) who were healthy, both during usual walking and under 3 dual-task conditions: (1) no specific prioritization instructions, (2) prioritization of gait, and (3) prioritization of the cognitive task.ResultsYoung adults significantly increased gait speed in the gait prioritization condition compared with gait speed in the no-instruction condition; a similar tendency was seen in the older adults. Gait speed was reduced when priority was given to the cognitive task in both age groups; however, this effect was less dramatic in the older adults. In the young adults, prioritization of gait tended to have different effects on gait speed among both men and women. In the older adults, but not in the young adults, all dual-task conditions produced increased gait variability, whereas prioritization did not alter this gait feature.LimitationsThe sample size and the relative homogeneity of the older adults could be considered as possible limitations of the study.ConclusionsEven among young adults, the effects of secondary, cognitive tasks on gait speed are strongly influenced by prioritization. This finding was less significant in the older adults, suggesting that there is an age-associated decline in the ability to flexibly allocate attention to gait. Somewhat surprisingly, when prioritization was not explicitly instructed, gait speed in both young and older adults most closely resembled that of the condition when they were instructed to focus attention on the cognitive task.

Validity of a Novel Touch Screen Tablet-Based Assessment for Mild Cognitive Impairment and Probable AD in Older Adults

Assessment ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1540-1553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yo-Ping Huang ◽  
Avichandra Singh ◽  
Sheng Chen ◽  
Fang-Ju Sun ◽  
Chiu-Ron Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Motor Control ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Touch Screen ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Visuospatial Perception

This study aimed to develop a psychometrically valid touch screen tablet-based cognitive test battery to identify early cognitive impairment due to dementia in older adults. The battery includes eight tests with 13 subscores, evaluating visual attention, auditory attention, information processing speed, visual memory, motor control, and visuospatial perception. Among the participants, 43 had been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 36 with probable Alzheimer’s disease (AD); 41 had no cognitive impairment. The average time to administer the tablet-based tests was 10 minutes. Significant correlations with the Mini-Mental State Examination were found in 9 out of 13 subscores. Patients with probable AD scored significantly lower than controls in 8 out of 13 subscores, whereas those with MCI scored significantly lower in 4 out of 13 subscores. Confirmatory factor analysis using Promax rotation showed that four factors caused lower subscores in the MCI group compared with the controls: information processing speed, memory, visuospatial perception, and motor control. All four factors significantly discriminated the controls from the MCI and probable AD groups, and in the expected direction. The touch screen tablet-based cognitive test battery is psychometrically valid for evaluating cognition in older adults.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document