Experimental Aging Research最新文献

Background: Older adults often show memory deficits, but these deficits can be reduced when newly learned information is consistent with one's schemas (prior knowledge). For example, research has found similar memory performance for young and older adults when remembering realistic market-value grocery items and prices; however, age-related differences are more prominent for overpriced items, which are inconsistent with schemas. In the present work, we examined how labelling items as free may impact memory for prices, and if curiosity may influence how younger and older adults remember price information. Experiment 1 investigated young and older adults' memory for free, market-priced, and overpriced items. In Experiment 2, participants' curiosity for learning the items and their prices was investigated to see if curiosity can be predictive of performance accuracy for information that is consistent and inconsistent with their schemas.

Methods: In Experiment 1, participants were shown grocery store items and were tested on the exact prices of these items and the categories they belong to. In Experiment 2, participants were first shown items and asked how curious they were to learn the price of the item. Participants were then shown the grocery item's price and category label, and were later tested on the associations of these items.

Results: Across both experiments, older adults were more accurate in recalling market-priced and free items compared to overpriced items. In contrast, younger adults did not show significant differences across price conditions. In Experiment 2, state curiosity significantly predicted accuracy in recalling exact prices, with this relationship being particularly strong among older adults.

Conclusion: Findings suggest that older adults benefit more from schematic support when remembering price information and that state curiosity enhances memory accuracy, especially for older adults. Schematic support and state curiosity may help mitigate age-related memory deficits.

Background: Young and older adults are often victimized by various forms of scams and fraud. However, little research has been conducted on how a scam prevention intervention may impact young and older adults' accuracy and confidence in determining the legitimacy of emails. The present study investigated young and older adults' accuracy and confidence, as well as potential contributing factors to scam susceptibility, before and after engaging with one of three intervention activities: control (no intervention), read-only (read common scam qualities), or interactive (interactively learned scam qualities in emails).

Method: Young and older adult participants were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions. Before and after the intervention, participants evaluated a series of legitimate and scam emails, indicating whether each email was legitimate or a scam. Participants also rated their confidence in their accuracy, the personal relevance of each email, and their curiosity about engaging further with the email.

Results: Both age groups showed no difference in sensitivity when determining the legitimacy of the emails before and after the interventions. Importantly, both age groups in the read-only and interactive conditions showed a bias toward labeling emails as scams, indicating a generally cautious approach.

Conclusions: Although the interventions did not improve detection sensitivity, participants were more cautious when evaluating emails. This tendency may help reduce vulnerability to scams and fraud and suggests that interventions can encourage greater caution when evaluating suspicious emails across age groups.

Purpose: Rhythmic auditory cueing (RAC) can enhance gait performance. However, little is known about its effect in people with cognitive impairment. The aim of this review was to describe, in studies of people with cognitive impairment: 1) the medical conditions and cognitive stages studied; 2) the RAC protocols and gait variables measured; and 3) whether cognitive stage or RAC protocols have differing effects on gait.

Materials and methods: Search terms included older age, cognitive impairment, auditory cueing, and gait. Three databases (PubMed, Embase via Ovid, Web of Science) were searched.

Results: Eight studies (n = 204 participants) were included. The diagnoses were Alzheimer's dementia, unspecified dementia, Parkinson's disease and atypical parkinsonian disorders. Cognitive stages ranged from mild cognitive impairment to late-stage dementia. RAC was commonly by metronome or music, at a preferred cadence tempo. The most common gait variables were speed, step length and cadence. Electronic walkways, accelerometers, or stopwatches were the most common measurement tools. The effect of RAC on gait across cognitive stages and diagnoses was mixed, with most studies reporting worse, or no change, in gait.

Conclusion: Cognitive impairment may influence the effect of RAC on gait. Studies with larger samples and a range of cognitive stages are needed.

Purpose: Aging is a gradual alteration in cells and tissues' homeostasis mechanisms. Oxidative stress is an important contributor to aging. This study investigated the effect of cedrol a natural sesquiterpene on rats' memory and oxidative stress markers including malondialdehyde (MDA) and total thiol levels in the hippocampus, cortex, liver, heart, and kidneys of rats and their liver enzymes.

Methods: Twenty-month-old rats were divided into three groups: cedrol 10 mg/kg, cedrol 5 mg/Kg, and saline treatment for 30 consecutive days. A passive avoidance test was performed in the last 3 days. A group of young 8-week rats was also treated with saline as the control group.

Results: The performance of old rats in passive avoidance test memory was impaired compared to young rats. Old rats had increased levels of MDA and decreased total thiol in mentioned tissues compared to young rats. Besides, the AST and ALT liver enzyme levels were higher in old than young rats. Administration of cedrol in old rats improved their performance in the passive avoidance test, decreased the level of MDA, increased total thiol levels, and decreased AST and ALT liver enzymes.

Conclusions: Based on the results, cedrol may probably alleviate aging consequences in rats by reducing oxidative stress.

Objective: This work thoroughly evaluated the association between cognitive status, mental disorders, and semantic verbal fluency (SVF).

Methods: Correlations between mental disorders, cognitive status, and demographic and medical history of 74 participants were analyzed. The SVF temporal course per 15-second period of a five-category task was assessed.

Results: Eight SVF principal components, led by a component consisting of the first fifteen-second periods (P1), were extracted. Regression analyses for cognitive status showed that the P1 component was the best predictor.

Conclusion: Thus, the words articulated during the first fifteen seconds of the SVF task may improve the prognosis and diagnosis of cognitive decline.

Background: Appearance aging stereotypes are prevalent in societal contexts. However, the effects of appearance aging stereotypes on psychological constructs, particularly appearance-related bodily self-consciousness in older adults, remain underexplored. This study explored the effect of appearance aging stereotypes on sense of body ownership in older adults and the mediating role of self-objectification.

Methods: In Experiment 1, older participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions: a stereotype activation condition (n = 39), in which participants stared at themselves in a mirror for 5 minutes and then wrote down the appearance-related shortcomings of older adults; and a control condition (n = 39), in which participants spent 5 minutes viewing a landscape image and wrote down adjectives to describe it. Subsequently, all participants completed the Rubber Hand Illusion task to measure their sense of body ownership. In Experiment 2, following the same experimental manipulations as in Experiment 1, older participants in the stereotype activation group (n = 36) and the control group (n = 36) completed assessments of state self-objectification and sense of body ownership.

Results: Older adults in the stereotype activation group exhibited a lower level of sense of body ownership compared to those in the control group (Experiments 1 and 2). In addition, state self-objectification mediated the effect of appearance aging stereotypes on sense of body ownership (Experiment 2).

Conclusion: Our findings indicate that appearance aging stereotypes are risk factors for sense of body ownership in older adults, providing new insights into understanding of body ownership, and enrich theories of aging stereotypes.

Purpose: Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) lose the ability to manage their medications as the disease progresses. Several methods have been used to administer medication to patients at home using Internet of Things (IoT) devices for rehabilitation, but no studies have yet been published investigating the factors that influence the success or failure of this approach in older adults and patients with AD. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate differences in medication-related behaviors and their influencing factors in older adults, both with and without AD, using IoT.

Materials and methods: The study population consisted of 57 patients in the AD group and 34 older adults in the non-AD one, The AD group consisted mainly of patients with mild disease. Both groups conducted a medication management experiment using medication management applications delivered through either "Arata" or "Skype", and their behaviors and influencing factors were examined.

Results: Operational errors were observed in both groups. Influencing factors that were common to both "Arata" and "Skype" were comprehension of spoken language and prospective memory. The influencing factors that differed were disorientation and attention.

Background: Aging is associated with declines in cognitive functions, particularly inhibitory control. The flanker task is widely used to assess this function; however, research findings on age-related differences remain inconsistent.

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesizes findings comparing young and older adults across different versions of the flanker task.

Methods: A total of 22 studies were selected from PsycInfo, PubMed and PsycNet.

Results: The results show that older adults exhibit slower reaction times, particularly on incongruent trials. However, differences in accuracy between both groups remain inconsistent. Our systematic review indicates that variability across studies likely stems from differences in participant demographics, cognitive screening protocols, task design, and statistical approaches. Task variations, such as stimulus type (arrows, letters, or moving stimuli), cueing conditions, and spatial arrangements, significantly influence interference effects. Furthermore, methodological differences in the computation of inhibition cost scoring also contribute to discrepancies in findings. Meta-analytical results reveal that the arrow flanker task produced the most consistent age-related differences. In contrast, letter-based and cued versions exhibited greater variability.

Conclusions: Future research should standardize task protocols, refine statistical methods, and explore novel adaptations such as dynamic stimuli to better understand inhibitory control changes in aging. Addressing these inconsistencies will enhance our ability to identify age-related inhibitory difficulties and develop targeted interventions to mitigate cognitive decline.

As the global older population grows, research increasingly focuses on their well-being and quality of life, aspects that are often impacted by a perceived loss of energy and fatigue. To describe individuals' energy dynamics, Self-Determination Theory (SDT) has recently proposed a dual-process model based on two constructs: Subjective Vitality and Depletion. The present study aims to validate the Subjective Vitality/Depletion Scale (SVDS), an instrument based on this model. A sample of 726 older adults (over 65) from two countries, USA and Italy (M_age = 72.57, SD_age = 6.49), completed the SVDS, the Big Five Inventory 2 - Extra Short Form (BFI-2-XS), the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), and the Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire (GSLTPAQ). Confirmatory factor analyses of the SVDS support the SDT hypothesis that Subjective Vitality and Depletion are two distinct, yet related constructs. Full measurement invariance for the scale was achieved across gender and age subgroups, while partial scalar invariance was established across different countries, suggesting some specific influence of cultural factors. Correlations with BFI-2-XS, SF-12, and GSLTPAQ support the SVDS validity. The study provided evidence that the SVDS based on SDT is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing Subjective Vitality and Depletion among older individuals.

Objectives: Cognitive tasks in dual-task (DT) tests can be either driven mainly by the environmental demands (an" environment-driven" mode of control) or guided mainly by the individual (a "self-generated" mode of control). Two new DT tests were conducted to determine the effect of cognitive task types (self-generated vs. environment-driven) on cognitive and motor interference in DT.

Methods: An exploratory study was conducted with 17 older adults (OLD) and 15 adults (YOUNG) who completed three single-task (ST) tests - motor, cognitive environment-driven, cognitive self-generated - and 2 DT tests. Cognitive and motor DT Effect (DTE) were calculated.

Results: The self-generated DTE was greater in the motor task than in cognitive tasks, especially for the OLD group. There was no difference for the environment-driven DTE. In the motor task, the self-generated task created more interference than the environment-driven task for all groups, but this was not the case for the cognitive task.

Conclusions: Some ideas were devised for creating interference-efficient tests, like using cognitive self-generated and motor complex tasks. The study confirmed previous results on gait tasks with new information on motor complex tasks.