Their study found that older adults performed similarly on computerized tasks of memory and attention when performed unsupervised at home and supervised in the laboratory. These are encouraging findings as online research for experimental research is increasingly popular, and participation among older adults can be restricted by mobility and transportation constraints – especially during Covid. You can access the .

Dr. Cyr and her are currently leveraging online testing to investigate the relationship between curiosity and episodic learning among younger and older adults. They are also looking at the role agency plays while learning new information, and whether giving individuals more control over their learning experience can bolster memory.

Abstract

Background: Web-based research allows cognitive psychologists to collect high-quality data from a diverse pool of participants with fewer resources. However, web-based testing presents unique challenges for researchers and clinicians working with aging populations. Older adults may be less familiar with computer usage than their younger peers, leading to differences in performance when completing web-based tasks in their home versus in the laboratory under the supervision of an experimenter.

Objective: This study aimed to use a within-subjects design to compare the performance of healthy older adults on computerized cognitive tasks completed at home and in the laboratory. Familiarity and attitudes surrounding computer use were also examined.

Methods: In total, 32 community-dwelling healthy adults aged above 65 years completed computerized versions of the word-color Stroop task, paired associates learning, and verbal and matrix reasoning in 2 testing environments: at home (unsupervised) and in the laboratory (supervised). The paper-and-pencil neuropsychological versions of these tasks were also administered, along with questionnaires examining computer attitudes and familiarity. The order of testing environments was counterbalanced across participants.

Results: Analyses of variance conducted on scores from the computerized cognitive tasks revealed no significant effect of the testing environment and no correlation with computer familiarity or attitudes. These null effects were confirmed with follow-up Bayesian analyses. Moreover, performance on the computerized tasks correlated positively with performance on their paper-and-pencil equivalents.

Conclusions: Our findings show comparable performance on computerized cognitive tasks in at-home and laboratory testing environments. These findings have implications for researchers and clinicians wishing to harness web-based testing to collect meaningful data from older adult populations.

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Dr. Hurley is a member of YU-CARE and an Assistant Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science at 91��ɫ. Her area of expertise is musculoskeletal biomechanics. Her research interests include investigating mechanisms of musculoskeletal injury and developing effective exercise rehabilitation strategies for chronic musculoskeletal conditions that commonly accompany age, including osteoarthritis and rotator cuff pathologies.

Jaclyn N Chopp-Hurley, Emily G Wiebenga, Heather H Keller, Monica R Maly, Diet and Nutrition Risk Affect Mobility and General Health in Osteoarthritis: Data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, glz277,

Abstract

Background

This study examined whether aspects of diet and nutrition risk explain variance in physical capacity and general health, after controlling for covariates, in Canadian adults with osteoarthritis (OA).
Methods
This was a cross-sectional study of baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Data from 1,404 participants with hand, hip, and/or knee osteoarthritis (OA) were included. A series of regression analyses were conducted with independent variables of food intake (fiber and high calorie snack intake) and nutrition risk; and dependent variables of physical capacity and general health. Physical capacity was characterized through grip strength and a pooled index of four mobility tests. General health was characterized through an index of self-reported general health, mental health, and healthy aging.

Results

Higher fiber intake was related to greater mobility (p = .01). Food intake was not related to any other outcome. Nutrition risk was significantly associated with mobility (p < .001) and general health (p < .001); those with a high nutrition risk classification had poorer general health (p < .001, d = 0.65) than those at low nutrition risk. As well, those with moderate nutrition risk had poorer general health than those with low nutrition risk (p = .001, d = 0.31).

Conclusions

Nutrition risk screening for older adults with osteoarthritis (OA) provides insight into behavioral characteristics associated with reduced mobility and poorer general health. Also, those consuming greater amounts of fiber demonstrated better mobility. Thus, this research suggests that quality of diet and nutritional behaviors can impact both physical and mental aspects of health in those with osteoarthritis (OA).
To contact Dr. Hurley, please email her at: jnhurley@yorku.ca

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Dr. David Hood, Director of the Muscle Health Research Centre

In recent months, YU-CARE member David A. Hood and colleagues have presented upon the relationship between exercise and the aging process. The research produced by Dr. Hood and his colleagues at the 91��ɫ Muscle Health Research Centre is impactful along the themes of the physiology of aging and healthy aging promotion.

This spring, Dr. Hood was featured in a on the topic of relationship between exercise and illness. In this interview, Dr. Hood discusses the connection between muscle health and illness, in addition to the importance of exercise as one ages to maintain health and strength.

Along a similar topic published this year and written by David A. Hood, Jonathan M. Memme, Ashley N. Oliveira, and Matthew Triolo, exercise is explored as a therapy to reverse and enhance the impaired mitochondrial function associated with aging and chronic muscle disuse. Read the abstract of the article, titled “Maintenance of Skeletal Muscle Mitochondria in Health, Exercise, and Aging” below. You can also visit the .

Abstract

Mitochondria are critical organelles responsible for regulating the metabolic status of skeletal muscle. These organelles exhibit remarkable plasticity by adapting their volume, structure, and function in response to chronic exercise, disuse, aging, and disease. A single bout of exercise initiates signaling to provoke increases in mitochondrial biogenesis, balanced by the onset of organelle turnover carried out by the mitophagy pathway. This accelerated turnover ensures the presence of a high functioning network of mitochondria designed for optimal ATP supply, with the consequence of favoring lipid metabolism, maintaining muscle mass, and reducing apoptotic susceptibility over the longer term. Conversely, aging and disuse are associated with reductions in muscle mass that are in part attributable to dysregulation of the mitochondrial network and impaired mitochondrial function. Therefore, exercise represents a viable, nonpharmaceutical therapy with the potential to reverse and enhance the impaired mitochondrial function observed with aging and chronic muscle disuse. ()

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Dr. Gary Turner

In recent months, YU-CARE Steering Committee member from the Department of Psychology has significantly contributed to the study of the cognitive neuroscience of aging.

Dr. Turner's research uses MRI techniques to investigate how brain functioning is related to cognitive changes that occur in older adulthood. His recent studies expand beyond the commonly held assumption that cognitive aging is short-hand for cognitive decline. His research has shown that cognitive aging is also associated with cognitive gains in areas such as creative thinking as well as wisdom in solving real world problems. Dr. Turner and his students are also working to develop cognitive training programs to improve concentration and focus in later life.

Read the abstracts for Dr. Turners’ recent research on cognitive aging and neuroscience below and follow the journal links for the full articles.

Abstracts and Links

Turner, G.R., Novakovic-Agopian, T., Kornblith, E., Adnan, A., Madore, M., Chen, A.J.W., & D’Esposito, M. (2019). Goal-Oriented Attention Self-Regulation (GOALS) training in older adults.

Abstract: Objectives: A common cognitive complaint of older adulthood is distractibility, or decline in ability to concentrate and maintain focus, yet few evidence-based interventions exist to address these deficits. We implemented s pilot trial of an evidence-based executive function training program, to investigate whether training in applied goal-directed attention regulation and problem solving would enhance executive control abilities in a sample of cognitively normal older adults with self-reported complaints of concentration problems.

Method: Consecutively recruited participants were placed into small groups and randomized to either Goal-Oriented Attentional Self-Regulation training (GOALS; N = 15) or a closely matched Brain Health Education program (BHE; N = 15).

Results: GOALS participants significantly improved on: neurocognitive measures of mental flexibility (p = 0.03, partial eta squared = 0.23); real-world setting functional performance measures of: task failures (p = 0.02, Cohen’s d = 0.88), task rule breaks (p = 0.02, Cohen’s d = 1.06), and execution (p = 0.04, Cohen’s d = 0.76); and in-lab functional assessment of goal-directed behaviour divergent thinking scale (p = 0.03, Cohen’s d = 0.95). All participants improved on a neurocognitive measure of planning (p = 0.01, partial eta squared = 0.031). BHE participants’ improvement over and above GOALS participants was limited to: rule adherence on the real world task (p = 0.04, Cohen’s d = 0.99), and evaluator rating (p = 0.03, Cohen’s d = 0.56), and average score (p = 0.02, Cohen’s d = 0.71) on the in-lab functional task.

Conclusion: Participation in GOALS training can enhance executive control, and lead to real-world functional improvements, for cognitively normal older adults with self-reported attention difficulties.

Spreng, R.N. & Turner, G.R. (2019). The shifting architecture of cognition and brain function in older adulthood.

Adnan, A., Beaty, R., Siliva, P., Spreng, R.N., & Turner, G.R. (2019). Creative aging: functional brain networks associated with divergent thinking in older and younger adults.

Abstract: Creative thinking is associated with connectivity between the default and executive control networks in the young brain. In aging, this pattern of functional coupling has been observed across multiple tasks. We have described this as the Default-Executive Coupling Hypothesis of Aging and suggest that this connectivity pattern may also be associated with creativity in older adulthood. However, age differences in brain networks implicated in creativity have yet to be investigated. The overarching goal of the present study was to examine age-related changes to functional brain networks associated with creativity. Specifically, we explored functional connectivity patterns among default and executive control brain regions associated with creative thoughts in older and younger adults. In a cross-sectional design, young (mean age = 21 y; n = 30) and older (mean age = 70 y; n = 25) participants completed a divergent thinking task during fMRI, which was examined using region of interest functional connectivity analyses. Consistent with predictions, analyses demonstrated that default and executive networks are more functionally coupled during creative thinking for older than younger adults. Critically, despite similar performance on an in-scanner creativity task, increased network efficiency was associated with creative ability for older adults only. These findings provide novel evidence of default-executive coupling as a putative mechanism associated with creative ability in later life.

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