scholarly journals Exergame and Balance Training Modulate Prefrontal Brain Activity during Walking and Enhance Executive Function in Older Adults

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Eggenberger ◽  
Martin Wolf ◽  
Martina Schumann ◽  
Eling D. de Bruin
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Balance Training

scholarly journals Balance Training Reduces Brain Activity during Motor Simulation of a Challenging Balance Task in Older Adults: An fMRI Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Ruffieux ◽  
Audrey Mouthon ◽  
Martin Keller ◽  
Michaël Mouthon ◽  
Jean-Marie Annoni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Balance Training ◽  
Motor Simulation ◽  
Balance Task ◽  
Fmri Study

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 EXECUTIVE FUNCTION AND PHYSICAL DECLINE TRAJECTORIES IN COMMUNITY DWELLING NON-DEMENTED OLDER ADULTS

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. 801-801
Author(s):  
V. Del Panta ◽  
M. Colpo ◽  
G. Sini ◽  
B. Stefania
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Physical Decline

scholarly journals Combining tDCS With a Motor-Cognitive Task to Reduce the Negative Impact of Dual-Tasking on the Gait of Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 287-288
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Hausdorff ◽  
Nofar Schneider ◽  
Marina Brozgol ◽  
Pablo Cornejo Thumm ◽  
Nir Giladi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Gait Speed ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Virtual Reality Environment ◽  
Dual Tasking ◽  
Concurrent Performance ◽  
Dual Task Cost

Abstract The simultaneous performance of a secondary task while walking (i.e., dual tasking) increases motor-cognitive interference and fall risk in older adults. Combining transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with the concurrent performance of a task that putatively involves the same brain networks targeted by the tDCS may reduce the negative impact of dual-tasking on walking. We examined whether tDCS applied while walking reduces the dual-task costs to gait and whether this combination is better than tDCS alone or walking alone (with sham stimulation). In 25 healthy older adults (aged 75.7±10.5yrs), a double-blind, within-subject, cross-over pilot study evaluated the acute after-effects of 20 minutes of tDCS targeting the primary motor cortex and the dorsal lateral pre frontal cortex during three separate sessions:1) tDCS while walking on a treadmill in a virtual-reality environment (tDCS+walking), 2) tDCS while seated (tDCS+seated), and 3) walking in the virtual-reality environment with sham tDCS (sham+walking). The complex walking condition taxed motor and cognitive abilities. During each session, single- and dual-task walking and cognitive function were assessed before and immediately after stimulation. Compared to pre-tDCS performance, tDCS+walking reduced the dual-task cost to gait speed (p=0.004) and other gait features (e.g., variability p=0.02), and improved (p<0.001) executive function (Stroop interference score). tDCS+seated and sham+walking did not affect the dual-task cost to gait speed (p>0.17). These initial findings demonstrate that tDCS delivered during challenging walking ameliorates dual-task gait and executive function in older adults, suggesting that the concurrent performance of related tasks enhances the efficacy of the neural stimulation and mobility.

scholarly journals Promoting Generalized Learning in Balance Recovery Interventions

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 402
Author(s):  
Sara A. Harper ◽  
Anne Z. Beethe ◽  
Christopher J. Dakin ◽  
David A. E. Bolton
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Balance Training ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Specific Training ◽  
Balance Recovery ◽  
Parallel Streams ◽  
Postural Perturbations ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

Recent studies have shown balance recovery can be enhanced via task-specific training, referred to as perturbation-based balance training (PBT). These interventions rely on principles of motor learning where repeated exposure to task-relevant postural perturbations results in more effective compensatory balance responses. Evidence indicates that compensatory responses trained using PBT can be retained for many months and can lead to a reduction in falls in community-dwelling older adults. A notable shortcoming with PBT is that it does not transfer well to similar but contextually different scenarios (e.g., falling sideways versus a forward trip). Given that it is not feasible to train all conditions in which someone could fall, this limited transfer presents a conundrum; namely, how do we best use PBT to appropriately equip people to deal with the enormous variety of fall-inducing scenarios encountered in daily life? In this perspective article, we draw from fields of research that explore how general learning can be promoted. From this, we propose a series of methods, gleaned from parallel streams of research, to inform and hopefully optimize this emerging field where people receive training to specifically improve their balance reactions.

scholarly journals The effects of combined cognitive training on prospective memory in older adults with mild cognitive impairment

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yifan Chen ◽  
Wei Zhou ◽  
Zijing Hong ◽  
Rongrong Hu ◽  
Zhibin Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Prospective Memory ◽  
Training Group ◽  
Strategy Training ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Executive Function Training ◽  
Encoding Strategy

AbstractThis study aimed to assess the effects of combined cognitive training on prospective memory ability of older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A total of 113 participants were divided into a control group and three intervention groups. Over three months, the control group received only community education without any training, whereas for the first six weeks, an executive function training group received executive function training, a memory strategy training group received semantic encoding strategy training, and the combined cognitive training group received executive function training twice a week for the first six weeks, and semantic encoding strategy training twice a week for the next six weeks. The combined cognitive training group showed improvement on the objective neuropsychological testing (Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale). The memory strategy training group showed improvement on the self-evaluation scales (PRMQ-PM). Combined cognitive training improved the prospective memory and cognitive function of older adults with MCI.

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.

scholarly journals Weight Status Influences Carotid Intima-Media Thickness to Executive Function Among Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 367-368
Author(s):  
Desiree Bygrave ◽  
Regina Wright
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Carotid Atherosclerosis ◽  
Intima Media Thickness ◽  
Carotid Intima Media Thickness ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Media Thickness

Abstract Carotid atherosclerosis has emerged as an early predictor of reduced cognitive function. Underlying this association are risk factors, such as overweight and obesity, that promote carotid atherosclerosis and poor cognitive outcomes. Given the prevalence of overweight and obesity among older adults, there is a critical need to better understand how atherosclerosis influences cognitive function in the context of elevated weight. To address this gap, the current study examined relations between carotid atherosclerosis (carotid intima-media thickness [IMT]), and attention (Trailmaking Test) and executive function (Verbal Fluency Test) performance, and whether they varied as a function of weight status (body mass index [BMI] classification). Data were analyzed from 162 older adults (mean age = 68.43y, 34% male, 41% African American), free of major disease. Mutliple regression and analysis of variance analyses, adjusted for age, sex, education and mean arterial pressure, showed a statistically significant IMT x BMI interaction for Verbal Fluency performance (p=.04) and a trending IMT x BMI interaction for Trailmaking A performance (p=.05). Simple effects analysis of IMT and Verbal Fluency performance showed that this association was most pronounced among those who are obese. Findings suggest atherosclerosis may influence executive function in the context of obesity among older adults. As the development of carotid atherosclerosis is strongly related to aging, our findings suggest that maintaining a healthy weight may reduce its impact on executive function in older adulthood.

scholarly journals Gray Matter Volume Covariance Networks, Social Support, and Cognition in Older Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 1219-1229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Cotton ◽  
Joe Verghese ◽  
Helena M Blumen
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Gray Matter ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
Matter Volume ◽  
With Memory ◽  
Gray Matter Network

Abstract Objective We examined the neural substrates of social support in older adults. Social support is associated with better outcomes in many facets of aging—including cognitive and functional health—but the underlying neural substrates remain largely unexplored. Methods Voxel-based morphometry and multivariate statistics were used to identify gray matter volume covariance networks associated with social support in 112 older adults without dementia (M age = 74.6 years, 50% female), using the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey. Results A gray matter network associated with overall social support was identified and included prefrontal, hippocampal, amygdala, cingulate, and thalamic regions. A gray matter network specifically associated with tangible social support (e.g., someone to help you if you were confined to bed) was also identified, included prefrontal, hippocampal, cingulate, insular, and thalamic regions, and correlated with memory and executive function. Discussion Gray matter networks associated with overall and tangible social support in this study were composed of regions previously associated with memory, executive function, aging, and dementia. Longitudinal research of the interrelationships between social support, brain structure, and cognition is needed, but strengthening social support may represent a new path toward improving cognition in aging that should be explored.

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