Neural signatures of central auditory aging under sensory and cognitive loads.

Background: Online priming studies have found that verbs (e.g., arrest) provide immediate access to typical agents (e.g., policeman) and patients (e.g., criminal) by generating expectancies from a verb to its related thematic roles and vice versa. These findings have contributed significantly to theories of thematic roles. However, these investigations and theoretical implications have been limited to young adults. Investigating verb–thematic role processing in older adults is important for understanding the semantic system in normal ageing, which aids in assessment, characterisation, and treatment of disorders that affect semantic processing in older adults. Aims: The current study investigates verb–thematic role priming in young adults and extends the investigation to older adults. It was predicted that both groups would show priming effects but that the older adult group would have slower reaction times overall. Methods & Procedures: Using a lexical decision task with a short stimulus onset asynchrony (250 ms), the current study investigated bidirectional agent–verb and patient–verb priming of younger and older adults. Outcomes & Results: Consistent with our predictions, the younger participants exhibited bidirectional priming for agent–verb pairs and patient–verb pairs in the participant and item analyses. The older adults also showed priming for patient–verb pairs, but unexpectedly they did not exhibit priming for agent–verb pairs. Reaction times for the older participants were slower than the reaction times for the younger participants in all conditions. Conclusions: Neither participant nor methodological factors readily explain the unexpected results. Theoretical explanations for the findings are explored.

Presently, there is no evidence that magnification of visual feedback has motor implications beyond impairments in force control during a visuomotor task. We hypothesized that magnification of visual feedback would increase visual information processing, alter the muscle activation, and exacerbate the response time in older adults. To test this hypothesis, we examined whether magnification of visual feedback during a reaction time task alters the premotor time and the motor unit pool activation of older adults. Participants responded as fast as possible to a visual stimulus while they maintained a steady ankle dorsiflexion force (15% maximum) either with low-gain or high-gain visual feedback of force. We quantified the following: 1) response time and its components (premotor and motor time), 2) force variability, and 3) motor unit pool activity of the tibialis anterior muscle. Older adults exhibited longer premotor time and greater force variability than young adults. Only in older adults, magnification of visual feedback lengthened the premotor time and exacerbated force variability. The slower premotor time in older adults with high-gain visual feedback was associated with increased force variability and an altered modulation of the motor unit pool. In conclusion, our findings provide novel evidence that magnification of visual feedback also exacerbates premotor time during a reaction time task in older adults, which is correlated with force variability and an altered modulation of motor unit pool. Thus these findings suggest that visual information processing deficiencies in older adults could result in force control and reaction time impairments. NEW & NOTEWORTHY It is unknown whether magnification of visual feedback has motor implications beyond impairments in force control for older adults. We examined whether it impairs reaction time and motor unit pool activation. The findings provide novel evidence that magnification of visual feedback exacerbates reaction time by lengthening premotor time, which implicates time for information processing in older adults, which is correlated with force variability and an altered modulation of motor unit pool.

ABSTRACTThe present study examined older and younger adults’ ability to use top-down processes to mitigate the effects of display noise during simple feature, visual search. As display noise levels increased, older adults (age 60–74 years, n = 32) exhibited greater top-down search reaction time (RT) benefits (bottom-up minus top-down search RT), compared to younger adults (age 18–27, n = 32). Older adults’ ability to mitigate the effects of noise was further assessed with RT variability, as measured by intra-individual standard deviations across trials. Older adults again exhibited larger top-down benefits (i.e., less RT variability) compared to younger adults, and more so when display noise was present vs. absent. These results suggest a sparing of top-down processes with age (Madden, Whiting, Spaniol, & Bucur, 2005; Psychology and Aging, 20, 317), and that top-down processes in older adults enhance search efficiency by optimizing signal-to-noise ratios.

Age-related changes to electroencephalographic markers of visuomotor error processing and learning in prism adaptation

We investigated whether performing step initiation during a proprioceptive perturbation would require greater perceptual or motor inhibitory control in older adults. Fifty-two healthy adults (young: n = 26, mean age 22.5 years vs. older: n = 26, mean age 70.1 years) performed a stepping reaction time task, with different inhibition requirements (i.e., perceptual vs. motor inhibitory conflict), with two proprioceptive configurations: with and without application of Achilles tendon vibrations. Beyond a systematically greater stepping reaction time in older adults (p < .01), no difference was found between the perceptual versus motor inhibitory conflict resolution, regardless of age and proprioceptive configuration. Furthermore, slower reaction time was observed for young participants in the presence of Achilles tendon vibrations unlike older adults, who showed the same reactive stepping performance with or without vibrations (p < .05). These findings show that perceptual inhibition cannot be considered as specifically involved in the central processing of proprioceptive signals, at least not in active older adults. Rather than motor system malfunctioning or a reduced amount of proprioceptive afference, we propose that cortical-proprioceptive processing in older adults remains as effective as in young adults, regardless of the high attentional requirements for step responses.

BackgroundWhile aerobic, resistance, and balance training are commonly used to counteract age-related declines in cognitive and physical functions, evidence for cognitive benefits of metabolic training (i.e., aerobic, resistance) remains inconsistent. In contrast, motor training (i.e., balance, coordination) involving higher task complexity may enhance cognition by engaging brain regions associated with cognitive control processes. Resistance training on unstable devices, also referred to as metastable resistance training (MRT), has been reported to increase metabolic, coordinative, and cognitive demands during exercise, as well as to improve cognitive performance in older adults. This study examined the effect of MRT on cognitive performance compared to traditionally recommended resistance training (T-RT) and balance training (BT). We hypothesized that MRT specifically improves cognitive task performance requiring perceptual processing and attention.MethodsEighty-three healthy older adults (mean age 70.5 ± 4.5 years) were matched into three groups which were randomly assigned to either MRT, BT or T-RT programs. Each group trained twice a week for 10 weeks. Cognitive functions were assessed using four tasks targeting working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and perceptual processing. Linear mixed-effects models were applied to examine the effect of MRT on cognitive performance in contrast to BT and T-RT.ResultsA significant time-by-group interaction was observed for inhibitory control when contrasting MRT with BT, t(80) = 3.56, p < 0.001, β = 0.42, 95% CI [0.19, 0.65], indicating improved response inhibition following MRT. Additionally, perceptual processing was significantly enhanced when comparing MRT with BT for both reaction time, t(79) = 2.35, p = 0.020, β = 0.19, 95% CI [0.03, 0.35], and accuracy, t(79) = -2.69, p = 0.009, β = -0.26, 95% CI [-0.45, -0.07].ConclusionsIn contrast to BT, MRT appears to selectively enhance cognitive functions requiring inhibitory control and perceptual processing in older adults. Consequently, metabolic demands associated with MRT may offer additional cognitive benefits beyond the coordinative demands offered by traditional balance training.Clinical trial numberThis trial, DRKS00030394, was registered in the German Clinical Trials Register on 16/08/2023.

&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Objective: &lt;/strong&gt;This study was designed to examine whether age-related differences in melodic pitch perception may be mediated by temporal processing. Temporal models of pitch suggest that performance will decline as the lowest component of a complex tone increases in frequency, regardless of age. In addition, if there are age-related deficits in temporal processing in older adults, this group may have reduced performance relative to younger adults even in the most favorable conditions.&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Design: &lt;/strong&gt;Six younger adults and 10 older adults with clinically normal audiograms up to 8 kHz were tested in a melodic pitch perception task. In each trial, two consecutive four-note melodies were presented to the listener. Melodies were identical with the exception of one note in the second melody that was shifted in pitch. The listener was required to identify which note was shifted. All notes consisted of eight successive harmonic components, with the average lowest component manipulated to be the 4th, 8th, or 12th component of the harmonic series, with lower components being absent.&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Age-related differences in melodic pitch perception were only apparent when stimulus parameters favored temporal processing of pitch. Furthermore, modeling a loss of periodicity coding yielded an outcome consistent with the observed behavioral results. Although younger adults generally outperformed older adults, about one-quarter of the older adults performed at levels that were equivalent to those of younger adults. The only follow-up tests that were able to differentiate these exceptional older adults were tests that would be sensitive to temporal processing: Fundamental frequency difference limens and 500 Hz pure-tone difference limens. In contrast, otoacoustic emissions and high-frequency pure-tone thresholds, which are more commonly associated with spectral processing deficits, were not able to differentiate older exceptional adults from older typical adults.&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion: &lt;/strong&gt;Age-related declines in temporal processing contribute to deficits in melodic pitch perception. However, some exceptional older adults with normal audiograms preserve excellent temporal processing and continue to perform at levels that are typical of younger adults.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Objective: &lt;/strong&gt;This study was designed to examine whether age-related differences in melodic pitch perception may be mediated by temporal processing. Temporal models of pitch suggest that performance will decline as the lowest component of a complex tone increases in frequency, regardless of age. In addition, if there are age-related deficits in temporal processing in older adults, this group may have reduced performance relative to younger adults even in the most favorable conditions.&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Design: &lt;/strong&gt;Six younger adults and 10 older adults with clinically normal audiograms up to 8 kHz were tested in a melodic pitch perception task. In each trial, two consecutive four-note melodies were presented to the listener. Melodies were identical with the exception of one note in the second melody that was shifted in pitch. The listener was required to identify which note was shifted. All notes consisted of eight successive harmonic components, with the average lowest component manipulated to be the 4th, 8th, or 12th component of the harmonic series, with lower components being absent.&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Age-related differences in melodic pitch perception were only apparent when stimulus parameters favored temporal processing of pitch. Furthermore, modeling a loss of periodicity coding yielded an outcome consistent with the observed behavioral results. Although younger adults generally outperformed older adults, about one-quarter of the older adults performed at levels that were equivalent to those of younger adults. The only follow-up tests that were able to differentiate these exceptional older adults were tests that would be sensitive to temporal processing: Fundamental frequency difference limens and 500 Hz pure-tone difference limens. In contrast, otoacoustic emissions and high-frequency pure-tone thresholds, which are more commonly associated with spectral processing deficits, were not able to differentiate older exceptional adults from older typical adults.&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion: &lt;/strong&gt;Age-related declines in temporal processing contribute to deficits in melodic pitch perception. However, some exceptional older adults with normal audiograms preserve excellent temporal processing and continue to perform at levels that are typical of younger adults.&lt;/div&gt;

Event Abstract Back to Event Improving encoding and retrieval processes in older adults Ilmiye Huseyin1* and L. Aiman1 1 School of Psychology, Deakin University, Australia The ability of older adults to encode and retrieve information efficiently is significantly influenced by divided attention conditions (Craik, Govoni, Naveh-Benjamin, & Anderson, 1996). Difficulties in carrying out memory tasks could impact on their health, ability to live independently, and psychological well being (Bowling & Grundy, 1997). Thus, effective strategies and techniques to delay memory decline or enhance memory skills, specifically improving encoding and retrieval processes under dual attention conditions are required. The current paper presents preliminary findings in relation to how encoding and retrieval processes can be improved through computer game training. A sample of 26 older adults aged between 60 and 80 years old were randomly assigned to either a computer game training group or to a non computer game training group and were tested with a recognition memory task at pre- and posttests. Results from this study showed that when attention was divided at retrieval participants who trained with a computer game recalled more words than those who did not participate in computer game training but there was no significant difference between the two groups when attention was divided at encoding. This finding indicates that computer game training is beneficial in improving older adults’ ability to retrieve information when performed with a concurrent secondary task showing that it is possible to enhance older adults’ memory skills. These findings need to be further corroborated with further research in the area of training older adults’ memory skills. Conference: 10th International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience, Bodrum, Turkey, 1 Sep - 5 Sep, 2008. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Memory & Learning Citation: Huseyin I and Aiman L (2008). Improving encoding and retrieval processes in older adults. Conference Abstract: 10th International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.01.280 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 09 Dec 2008; Published Online: 09 Dec 2008. * Correspondence: Ilmiye Huseyin, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia, ihu@deakin.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Ilmiye Huseyin L. Aiman Google Ilmiye Huseyin L. Aiman Google Scholar Ilmiye Huseyin L. Aiman PubMed Ilmiye Huseyin L. Aiman Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

The oscillatory mechanisms associated with syntactic binding in healthy ageing

Ambiguity is ubiquitous in language; lexical ambiguity refers to instances where a single word has multiple meanings. The current investigation examined homonyms, words that have the same orthography and pronunciation in English but multiple meanings (e.g., BANK, meaning "financial institution" or "river's edge"). The processing of homonyms requires the engagement of executive control processes, for example, to select the appropriate meaning of the homonym while reducing interference from other meanings. Executive function processes are known to change over the lifespan and may be impacted by experiential factors such as bilingualism. The present study uses event-related brain potentials as an index of lexical access to examine whether bilingualism influences homonym processing in older adults. The results indicate that patterns of lexical access differ as a function of bilingual status in older adults and compared to young adults, suggesting that language experience may moderate language processing in both young and older adults, at least in situations where language processing is demanding on executive function, such as in the processing of homonyms. Importantly, we show that older bilinguals show a somewhat similar pattern of ambiguity processing as their younger counterparts, while age differences were observed in monolinguals when comparing across studies. This suggests that bilingual language experience may have a mitigating impact on age-related changes in ambiguity processing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Dual-task processing in younger and older adults: Similarities and differences revealed by fMRI

Objective Older adults have an increased risk of developing persistent cognitive complaints after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Yet, studies exploring which factors protect older adults with mTBI from developing such complaints are rare. It has been suggested that one such factor may be cognitive reserve (CR), but it is unknown how CR influences cognition in this patient category. Here, we therefore study how CR influences brain processes during a task that taps into attention, an important cognitive function. Methods We studied 17 older adults (13 males, mean 68.18 (SD 5.08) years old) at the subacute stage after mTBI and 19 age- and CR-matched participants without mTBI; 9 males, mean 67.79 (SD 5.36) years old) performing a selective visual attentional processing task while recording EEG. The P2 brain event-related potential component was obtained by averaging over electrodes in the fronto-central region of interest and its amplitude and latency were derived as neural correlates of attentional processing. The inverse efficiency score (IES) was derived from accuracy and reaction times as a measure of performance. To investigate the effect of CR on performance and P2 component characteristics, three separate mixed model repeated measures analyses of covariance (RM-ANCOVA) were performed. Results Performance did not significantly differ across groups or task conditions, nor was it significantly influenced by CR. Main effects of CR illustrated that the P2 latency was delayed (p = .03) and the P2 amplitude increased (p = .02) with higher CR across groups. Furthermore, CR correlated positively with P2 latency in both groups (older adults without mTBI: r = .370, p = .005, older adults with mTBI: r = .287, p = 0.041), and with P2 amplitude in the older adults with mTBI (r = .595-.636, p&lt;0.001-.011). We found no main or interaction effects of group or task condition on P2 characteristics. Conclusion Older adults with mTBI with higher CR employ more brain resources than older adults with mTBI with lower CR, accompanied by slower processing, suggesting that it may have resulted in similar performance at a selective visual attentional processing task. To better interpret these findings in the context of persistent complaints and establish that higher CR in these patients may result in better performance, our study needs to be repeated with more participants.

Background Multisensory perception is the ability to merge information from different sensory modalities. There is a growing interest in identifying ways to improve multisensory perception abilities in older adults, as inefficient multisensory processing has been linked to cognitive and functional impairments. Previous research has shown multisensory perception can be improved in young adults through training their simultaneity judgement. In the present study, we tested whether two different versions of this successful training protocol could train audio-visual abilities in older adults. Methods Fifty-eight (32 female) community dwelling and cognitively healthy older adults participated in this study. The age range was 60 – 85 (M=72.47, SD = 6.46). Recruitment was completed through active retired and community-based HSE Falls groups. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions; synchronous or asynchronous training. Each group performed a similar computer-based training protocol, the difference between groups being the instruction given during training. Participants’ multisensory processing was assessed using the Sound-induced Flash Illusion (SiFI) which measures processing efficiency based on susceptibility to an audio-visual illusion. Results After 3 days of training, the Analysis of Variance on multisensory thresholds revealed no significant main effect of Training Group [F(1, 42) = .22, p = .64, partial eta squared = .005], Time [F(1, 42) = .007, p = .93, partial eta squared &lt;.001] or SOA [F(5, 210) = 1.19, p = .31, partial eta squared = .028]. Further analyses showed no performance improvement, nor change in susceptibility to the SiFI. Conclusion These results provide useful information for future studies exploring ways to train multisensory processing in older adults. We argue the cognitive demands of the computer-based task may account for the lack of an effect in older adults. Our findings highlight the role of task demands and cognitive load as factors to consider in future training studies with older adults.

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of cognitive load on the vowel timing of older and younger adults. It was hypothesized that the participants would have longer and less extensive second formant (F2) transitions in the heavier cognitive load condition. It was also hypothesized that the older adults would have longer and less extensive F2 transitions than the younger adults. Eight adults, four younger and four older, equally matched for sex participated. They completed a sentence-level Stroop task in two conditions, congruent and incongruent, that varied on cognitive load. Eight sentences were produced in each condition. Plosive-vowel syllables were selected for measurement before the color words, at the color words, and after the color words. All participants exhibited longer and more extensive vowel transitions before and at the color word in comparison to afterwards. In the incongruent condition, the color words had longer F2 transition durations. The older adults had longer F2 transition durations than the younger adults. The F2 transition frequency extent was greatest at the color word. The older adults had wider F2 transitions at the color word that also were wider for the incongruent words.The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of cognitive load on the vowel timing of older and younger adults. It was hypothesized that the participants would have longer and less extensive second formant (F2) transitions in the heavier cognitive load condition. It was also hypothesized that the older adults would have longer and less extensive F2 transitions than the younger adults. Eight adults, four younger and four older, equally matched for sex participated. They completed a sentence-level Stroop task in two conditions, congruent and incongruent, that varied on cognitive load. Eight sentences were produced in each condition. Plosive-vowel syllables were selected for measurement before the color words, at the color words, and after the color words. All participants exhibited longer and more extensive vowel transitions before and at the color word in comparison to afterwards. In the incongruent condition, the color words had longer F2 transition durations. The older adults had longer F2 transi...