Behavior In Later Life Research Articles

Personality and Personality Disorders, and the Passage of Time

ntil recently, too little was known about the Unature and importance of personality and personality disorders in later life. Anecdotal clinical information was abundant, but systematic data were sparse. Many important questions persist concerning the prevalence of personality disorders in later life and their manifestations, development and course, and impact on aspects of living. Can personality pathology be diagnosed using the same criteria in older populations as are used in younger ones, or do modifications have to be made to account for changes in life circumstances, such as the loss of a spouse or friends, retirement from work, or physical infirmity, that make some criteria not applicable? Do typical, early-onset personality disorders improve with advancing age or do they get worse? Can personality disorders actually have an onset in later life? And what are the long-term consequences of pathological versus adaptive personalities on health, longevity, marital and other social relationships, and the experience of important late life events? In the realm of geriatric psychiatry, do specific personality traits or types represent risk factors for the development of depression, dementia, or other psychiatric syndromes in later life? In contrast, could other traits or types serve as protective factors against the development of these conditions, or could they even enhance healthy aging? Thankfully, there is increasing interest in, and an accumulating body of knowledge about, the longitudinal course of personality traits and personality disorders and the interaction of these uniquely defining features of who we are with cognitive functioning, mood states, and patterns of behavior in later life. The articles on personality and personality

Age norms for older adults among Koreans: perceptions and influencing factors

ABSTRACTDespite rapid social change that has influenced the social status of older adults, expectations about their behaviour and whether such expectations differ across generations remain unexplored in Korea. Based on ageing theories of activity, disengagement and modernisation, this study investigated age norms among Koreans conceptualised as shared expectations of appropriate behaviours of older adults. Competing perspectives in intergenerational relations and prejudice toward older adults were examined to test if they influenced age norms and if such associations varied across different age groups. Data were analysed from a survey of 1,445 individuals aged 20 and above who resided in 16 administrative districts of Korea. Comparisons of age norms across age groups indicated that the older adult group (age 65+) held more restrictive attitudes about social participation and engagement in various behaviours in old age than the middle-aged adults (ages 45–64) and younger adults (ages 20–44). Respondents with more prejudice towards older adults tended to place more restrictions on the behaviour of older adults. A significant interaction indicated that respondents whose views were in line with a generational conflictive perspective, assessed as reporting more competitive perspectives between young and old people and being less supportive of intergenerational programmes, had a more restrictive view about older adults' behaviours among the middle-aged group but less restrictive attitudes in determining acceptable behaviour in later life among the older adult group.

Nurture: Effects of Intrauterine Position on Behaviour

Fetuses positioned next to littermates of the opposite sex may develop different sexually related traits and aggressive behaviour in later life. These effects of intrauterine position are due to hormonal transfer between fetuses. Testosterone from a male fetus that crosses the fetal membrane of an adjacent female fetus can affect molecular events in the female including modification of the steroid hormone receptors in hypothalamic neurons. The intrauterine environment may also account for the variability of laboratory animals and newborn human twins.

Impaired social behavior in chicks exposed to sodium valproate during the last week of embryogenesis

To evaluate direct exposure to sodium valproate (VPA) during embryogenesis, we administered VPA to chick embryos and examined their social behaviors after hatching. Embryos treated with VPA (35 μmol/egg) on day 14 were similar to controls for hatching date (day 21) and hatchlings' abilities, such as motor, imprinting, and surface righting. However, these VPA chicks on posthatching day 3 scored significantly low in the chick's social separation stress (SSS) test as follows. Aggregation test evaluated the speed of four chicks, individually isolated by a cardboard in a box, to aggregate upon removal of the cardboards. Belongingness test evaluated the speed of a chick isolated at a corner to join the group of three chicks placed at the opposite corner. Vocalization test for each chick was performed in an isolated corner by using a sound level meter. The results demonstrated that compared with controls, VPA chicks were significantly slow in aggregation (12.7 ± 2.5 s vs. 2.9 ± 0.9 s, p = 0.006) and belongingness (3.6 ± 0.28 s/40 cm vs. 2.6 ± 0.14 s/40 cm, P = 0.003) and weak in vocalization (13.4 ± 2.8 dB/30 s vs. 26.7 ± 1.3 dB/30 s, P = 0.001), respectively. Weight of cerebellum of VAP chick was 15 % lighter than controls (P = 0.004). Chick embryos exposed to VPA during the last week of embryogenesis had impaired social behaviors in spite of normal mortar and imprinting ability. The present method will be a useful animal model for assessing the effects of environment during embryogenesis on social behaviors in later life.

Health behavior after intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

Background: Pregnancy is an opportunity to adopt favorable health behaviors. We studied whether intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) promotes favorable health behavior in later life. Design: A prospective controlled cohort study. The method was a questionnaire survey in 2010 among 575 women with ICP and 1374 controls, all having delivered between the years 1969 and 1988 in Tampere University Hospital in Finland. Questionnaires were sent to 544 ICP patients and 1235 controls. Responses were received from 1178 (response rate 66.2%). The main outcome measures concerning recent or current health behavior were smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, body mass index (BMI) and special diet. Results: Current smoking was less common in the ICP group than among controls (10.5% vs 15.7%, p = 0.017). Assessed by smoking pack years there was a similar difference: in the ICP group 11.7% of women had at least 10 smoking pack years compared to 18.0% of the controls (p = 0.006). Recent alcohol consumption did not separate the two groups. The groups did not differ as to reported physical activity assessed in MET units. Fewer ICP women had had BMIs of 30 or more during pregnancy compared with controls (18.8% vs 25.1%, p = 0.023). In other points of life the BMI differences were not statistically significant. Weight-loss diet and gallbladder diet were more common in the ICP group (6.3% vs 3.6%, p = 0.044, and 3.0% vs 1.3%, p = 0.038). Conclusions: Having developed ICP two to four decades earlier seemed to constitute an effective intervention for smoking habits but not for other aspects of health behavior.

The effect of alloparental experience and care on anxiety-like, social and parental behaviour in adult mandarin voles

Social experiences, especially during early development, have profound effects on the brain and behaviour in later life. We examined whether the provision of alloparental care by older siblings affects anxiety, sociability and parental behaviour at adulthood in both them and the younger siblings for which they care. Using mandarin voles, Microtus mandarinus, we kept the older litter in the parents' cage at weaning where they provided alloparental care to younger siblings of the next litter. We found that mandarin voles that had cared for younger siblings displayed significantly more locomotor activity in a novel environment and engaged in more social investigation of unfamiliar same-sex individuals. Females of this group also provided more parental care compared to control voles. Individuals cared for by older siblings demonstrated lower levels of anxiety and aggression, and higher levels of parental investment at adulthood, compared to control animals. These results suggest that providing alloparental care increases locomotor activity, social investigation and maternal care in adulthood, and that receiving alloparental care reduces levels of anxiety and aggression and increases biparental care in adulthood. Giving and receiving alloparental care has clear benefits in this species and suggests that alloparental care may increase the inclusive fitness of both givers and receivers.

Factors associated with suicidal thoughts in a large community study of older adults

Thoughts about death and self-harm in old age have been commonly associated with the presence of depression, but other risk factors may also be important. To determine the independent association between suicidal ideation in later life and demographic, lifestyle, socioeconomic, psychiatric and medical factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted of a community-derived sample of 21 290 adults aged 60-101 years enrolled from Australian primary care practices. We considered that participants endorsing any of the four items of the Depressive Symptom Inventory -Suicidality Subscale were experiencing suicidal thoughts. We used standard procedures to collect demographic, lifestyle, psychosocial and clinical data. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The 2-week prevalence of suicidal ideation was 4.8%. Male gender, higher education, current smoking, living alone, poor social support, no religious practice, financial strain, childhood physical abuse, history of suicide in the family, past depression, current anxiety, depression or comorbid anxiety and depression, past suicide attempt, pain, poor self-perceived health and current use of antidepressants were independently associated with suicidal ideation. Poor social support was associated with a population attributable fraction of 38.0%, followed by history of depression (23.6%), concurrent anxiety and depression (19.7%), prevalent anxiety (15.1%), pain (13.7%) and no religious practice (11.4%). Prevalent and past mood disorders seem to be valid targets for indicated interventions designed to reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviour. However, our data indicate that social disconnectedness and stress account for a larger proportion of cases than mood disorders. Should these associations prove to be causal, then interventions that succeeded in addressing these issues would contribute the most to reducing suicidal ideation and, possibly, suicidal behaviour in later life.

Health behaviour changes and onset of chronic health problems in later life

Objectives: To assess five-year changes in health behaviours in later life and associations with onset of chronic health problems. The results may inform policy and interventions to promote healthy life years in ageing populations.Methods: Data are derived from the Norwegian study on Life-course, Ageing and Generation (NorLAG), a five-year (2002-2007) panel survey comprising a nation wide community sample. The present analyses include a sample of 1,019 respondents aged 60 years and older. Five-year changes in smoking, alcohol use, physical exercise and Body Mass Index (BMI) are assessed according to prevalent and incident chronic health problems. Multivariate logistic analyses of “healthy” behavioural changes are conducted.Results: A total of 453 respondents (45%) reported at least one chronic condition and 13% (N=133) reported onset of chronic conditions in the course of the past five years. Over a five-year period, there was an overall reduction in smoking rates and a decrease in regular physical activity. Alcohol consumption in older people slightly increased over time, but the incidence of chronic health problems tended to reduce alcohol intake. Older persons experiencing chronic health problems were less likely to initiate physical activity.Conclusions: The results provide limited support for the assumption that the onset of a chronic health condition triggers improved health behaviours. This suggests that the health care system could do more in targeting a potential “window of opportunity” for individuals to adopt new healthy behaviours in later life.

Minocycline Modulates Human Social Decision-Making: Possible Impact of Microglia on Personality-Oriented Social Behaviors

BackgroundMicroglia, one of the glial cells, play important roles in various brain pathologies including psychiatric disorders. In addition, microglia have recently been proved to monitor synaptic reactions via direct-touching even in normal brain. Human microglia may modulate various social/mental functions, while microglial social/mental roles remain unresolved especially in healthy humans. There is no known drug with the specific effect of modulating microglia. Therefore, using minocycline, a tetracycline antibiotic and the most famous microglial inhibitor, is one of the best alternative approaches to clarify microglial functions on human social/mental activities.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe conducted a double-blind randomized trial of trust game, a monetary decision-making experiment, with ninety-nine human adult males who decided how much to trust an anonymous partner after a four-day administration of minocycline. Our previous pilot trial indicated a positive effect of minocycline, while the underlying mechanisms were not clarified. Therefore, in this trial with larger samples, we additionally measured the effects of anxiety and personality. The monetary score in trust game was significantly lower in the minocycline group. Interestingly, participants’ ways of decision-making were significantly shifted; cooperativeness, one component of personality, proved to be the main modulating factor of decision-making in the placebo group, on the other hand, the minocycline group was mainly modulated by state anxiety and trustworthiness.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results suggest that minocycline led to more situation-oriented decision-making, possibly by suppressing the effects of personality traits, and furthermore that personality and social behaviors might be modulated by microglia. Early-life events may activate human microglia, establish a certain neuro-synaptic connection, and this formation may determine each human’s personality and personality- oriented social behaviors in later life. To explore these mechanisms, further translational research is needed.Trial RegistrationUMIN clinical trial center UMIN000004803

P1‐100: Cognitive function and oral hygiene behavior in later life

P1‐100: Cognitive function and oral hygiene behavior in later life

A Randomized Trial to Reduce the Prevalence of Depression and Self-Harm Behavior in Older Primary Care Patients

We wanted to determine whether an educational intervention targeting general practitioners reduces the 2-year prevalence of depression and self-harm behavior among their older patients. Our study was a cluster randomized controlled trial conducted between July 2005 and June 2008. We recruited 373 Australian general practitioners and 21,762 of their patients aged 60 years or older. The intervention consisted of a practice audit with personalized automated audit feedback, printed educational material, and 6 monthly educational newsletters delivered over a period of 2 years. Control physicians completed a practice audit but did not receive individualized feedback. They also received 6 monthly newsletters describing the progress of the study, but they were not offered access to the educational material about screening, diagnosis and management of depression, and suicide behavior in later life. The primary outcome was a composite measure of clinically significant depression (Patient Health Questionnaire score ≥10) or self-harm behavior (suicide thoughts or attempt during the previous 12 months). Information about the outcomes of interest was collected at the baseline assessment and again after 12 and 24 months. We used logistic regression models to estimate the effect of the intervention in a complete case analysis and intention-to-treat analysis by imputed chain equations (primary analysis). Older adults treated by general practitioners assigned to the intervention experienced a 10% (95% CI, 3%-17%) reduction in the odds of depression or self-harm behavior during follow-up compared with older adults treated by control physicians. Post hoc analyses showed that the relative effect of the intervention on depression was not significant (OR = 0.93; 95% CI, 0.83-1.03), but its impact on self-harm behavior over 24 months was (OR = 0.80; 95% CI, 0.68-0.94). The beneficial effect of the intervention was primarily due to the relative reduction of self-harm behavior among older adults who did not report symptoms at baseline. The intervention had no obvious effect in reducing the 24-month prevalence of depression or self-harm behavior in older adults who had symptoms at baseline. Practice audit and targeted education of general practitioners reduced the 2-year prevalence of depression and self-harm behavior by 10% compared with control physicians. The intervention had no effect on recovery from depression or self-harm behavior, but it prevented the onset of new cases of self-harm behavior during follow-up. Replication of these results is required before we can confidently recommend the roll-out of such a program into normal clinical practice.

Anxiety symptoms and suicidal feelings in a population sample of 70-year-olds without dementia

The role of anxiety in late-life suicidal behavior has received relatively little attention. The aim was to explore the association between anxiety symptoms and suicidal feelings in a population sample of 70-year-olds without dementia, and to test whether associations would be independent of depression. Face-to-face interviews (N = 560) were carried out by psychiatric nurses and past month symptoms were rated with the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS). The Brief Scale for Anxiety (BSA) was derived from the CPRS to quantify anxiety symptom burden. Past month suicidal feelings were evaluated with the Paykel questions. Anxiety symptom burden was associated with suicidal feelings and the association remained after adjusting for major depression. One individual BSA item (Inner tension) was independently associated with suicidal feelings in a multivariate regression model. The association did not remain, however, in a final model in which depression symptoms replaced depression diagnosis. Results from this population study suggest an association between anxiety and suicidal feelings in older adults. The role of anxiety and depression symptoms needs further clarification in the study of suicidal behavior in late life.

The Interaction between Early Life Epilepsy and Autistic-Like Behavioral Consequences: A Role for the Mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) Pathway

Early life seizures can result in chronic epilepsy, cognitive deficits and behavioral changes such as autism, and conversely epilepsy is common in autistic children. We hypothesized that during early brain development, seizures could alter regulators of synaptic development and underlie the interaction between epilepsy and autism. The mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) modulates protein translation and is dysregulated in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, a disorder characterized by epilepsy and autism. We used a rodent model of acute hypoxia-induced neonatal seizures that results in long term increases in neuronal excitability, seizure susceptibility, and spontaneous seizures, to determine how seizures alter mTOR Complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling. We hypothesized that seizures occurring at a developmental stage coinciding with a critical period of synaptogenesis will activate mTORC1, contributing to epileptic networks and autistic-like behavior in later life. Here we show that in the rat, baseline mTORC1 activation peaks during the first three postnatal weeks, and induction of seizures at postnatal day 10 results in further transient activation of its downstream targets phospho-4E-BP1 (Thr37/46), phospho-p70S6K (Thr389) and phospho-S6 (Ser235/236), as well as rapid induction of activity-dependent upstream signaling molecules, including BDNF, phospho-Akt (Thr308) and phospho-ERK (Thr202/Tyr204). Furthermore, treatment with the mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin immediately before and after seizures reversed early increases in glutamatergic neurotransmission and seizure susceptibility and attenuated later life epilepsy and autistic-like behavior. Together, these findings suggest that in the developing brain the mTORC1 signaling pathway is involved in epileptogenesis and altered social behavior, and that it may be a target for development of novel therapies that eliminate the progressive effects of neonatal seizures.

Acute Pain and a Motivational Pathway in Adult Rats: Influence of Early Life Pain Experience

BackgroundThe importance of neonatal experience upon behaviour in later life is increasingly recognised. The overlap between pain and reward pathways led us to hypothesise that neonatal pain experience influences reward-related pathways and behaviours in adulthood.Methodology/Principal FindingsRat pups received repeat plantar skin incisions (neonatal IN) or control procedures (neonatal anesthesia only, AN) at postnatal days (P)3, 10 and 17. When adult, rats with neonatal ‘pain history’ showed greater sensory sensitivity than control rats following acute plantar skin incision. Motivational behaviour in the two groups of rats was tested in a novelty-induced hypophagia (NIH) paradigm. The sensitivity of this paradigm to pain-induced changes in motivational behaviour was shown by significant increases in the time spent in the central zone of the arena (43.7±5.9% vs. 22.5±6.7%, p<0.05), close to centrally placed food treats, and decreased number of rears (9.5±1.4 vs. 19.2±2.3, p<0.001) in rats with acute plantar skin incision compared to naive, uninjured animals. Rats with a neonatal ‘pain history’ showed the same pain-induced behaviour in the novelty-induced hypophagia paradigm as controls. However, differences were observed in reward-related neural activity between the two groups. Two hours after behavioural testing, brains were harvested and neuronal activity mapped using c-Fos expression in lateral hypothalamic orexin neurons, part of a specific reward seeking pathway. Pain-induced activity in orexin neurons of control rats (18.4±2.8%) was the same as in uninjured naive animals (15.5±2.6%), but in those rats with a ‘pain history’, orexinergic activity was significantly increased (27.2±4.1%, p<0.01). Furthermore the extent of orexin neuron activation in individual rats with a ‘pain history’ was highly correlated with their motivational behaviour (r = −0.86, p = 0.01).Conclusions/SignificanceThese results show that acute pain alters motivational behaviour and that neonatal pain experience causes long-term changes in brain motivational orexinergic pathways, known to modulate mesolimbic dopaminergic reward circuitry.

Increased risk of poor health in people who moved house regularly during childhood.

Frequent house moves during childhood increase the risk of psychological distress and unhealthy behaviours in later life, suggests a study in the west of Scotland.

Consumer Behavior in Later Life: Current Knowledge, Issues, and New Directions for Research

ABSTRACTThe aging of the Earth's populations has been creating increasing interest in older consumers among researchers, marketers, and policymakers. Yet previous research efforts have produced little knowledge to help explain consumer behavior in later life. The main reason for this limited knowledge may be a lack of theoretical and methodological bases for studying the consumption patterns of older generations. This article advocates the value of emergent paradigms and methods that are becoming increasingly popular in behavioral sciences and hold promise for studying the consumer behavior of older adults. It particularly recommends approaches that emphasize the importance of examining consumers in the context of the time and life circumstances in which they are embedded, and it builds a research agenda to help address contemporary research issues and guide further research.

Greater emotional empathy and prosocial behavior in late life.

Emotional empathy and prosocial behavior were assessed in older, middle-aged, and young adults. Participants watched two films depicting individuals in need, one uplifting and the other distressing. Physiological responses were monitored during the films, and participants rated their levels of emotional empathy following each film. As a measure of prosocial behavior, participants were given an additional payment they could contribute to charities supporting the individuals in the films. Age-related linear increases were found for both emotional empathy (self-reported empathic concern and cardiac and electrodermal responding) and prosocial behavior (size of contribution) across both films and in self-reported personal distress to the distressing film. Empathic concern and cardiac reactivity to both films, along with personal distress to the distressing film only, were associated with greater prosocial behavior. Empathic concern partially mediated the age-related differences in prosocial behavior. Results are discussed in terms of our understanding both of adult development and of the nature of these vital aspects of human emotion.

Allotment Gardening and Other Leisure Activities for Stress Reduction and Healthy Aging

This study explored the potential benefits of allotment gardening for healthy aging, focusing on the opportunities for outdoor physical activity, social support, and contact with nature that allotment gardening provides. Participants included 94 individuals aged between 50 and 88 years who were members of various indoor and outdoor activity groups. The participants completed physiological measures and psychometric scales of self-rated health, perceived stress, physical activity level, and perceived social support. A significant difference in perceived stress levels was observed between the activity groups. Allotment gardeners reported significantly less perceived stress than participants of indoor exercise classes (P &lt; 0.05). As there were no significant differences in reported levels of social support and physical activity, explanations for the allotment gardeners' lower stress levels focus on the potential contribution of engagement with nature and psychological restoration. These findings represent a step toward understanding the benefits of allotment gardening activity as a health-promoting behavior in later life.

Attachment theory: A “secure base” for psychotherapy integration.

Attachment theory is well positioned to serve as a foundation for assimilative psychotherapy integration. It has an exceptionally strong empirical base and provides a life span developmental framework often absent in current treatment models. Attachment theory focuses on the need for proximity to a sensitive caregiver in childhood who provides a sense of security and a safe base from which to explore. Affect regulation and relational behavior in later life are greatly affected by the vicissitudes of attachment relationships, with significant implications for psychopathology and psychotherapy. Attachment theory should help bridge the current gap between researchers and practitioners because it underscores the centrality of relationship in the therapeutic process but possesses a long tradition of empiricism. I propose three criteria that a foundational theory requires at this time and suggest that attachment theory satisfies them with its breadth of explanatory power, strong research base, and potential for integration with a wide array of other methods.

Effects of motherless rearing on basal and stress-induced corticosterone secretion in rat pups

Rearing of rat pups without a mother, artificial rearing (AR), produces substantial changes in the pups' behavior in later life. These changes are similar to those produced by the stress of repeated mother–pup separations. The predominant interpretation is that the long-term effects of disruptions to the mother–pup relationship are mediated by exposure to elevated levels of corticosterone which affect the development of neurobiological systems underlying cognition and behavior. Indeed, repeated separation of pups from the mother sensitizes the pups' corticosterone response to stress. This study examined basal and stress-induced corticosterone release in AR pups. Corticosterone levels were increased immediately following implantation of feeding cannulae. One day after the start of AR, circulating concentrations of corticosterone were not increased unless AR pups were challenged with an additional stressor (injection). Corticosterone levels were lowest when cannulation and AR started on postnatal day (PND) 5 compared with earlier PNDs. On PND 12, there was no evidence of increased corticosterone levels in AR pups at baseline or in response to stress, indicating that AR did not result in persistent sensitization of corticosterone release. The long-term effects of motherless rearing on rat behavior are mediated by mechanisms that are independent of sustained early corticosterone exposure.