Visual feature binding in younger and older adults: encoding and suffix interference effects

Three experiments investigated younger (18–25 yrs) and older (70–88 yrs) adults’ temporary memory for colour–shape combinations (binding). We focused upon estimating the magnitude of the binding cost for each age group across encoding time (Experiment 1; 900/1500?ms), presentation format (Experiment 2; simultaneous/sequential), and interference (Experiment 3; control/suffix) conditions. In Experiment 1, encoding time did not differentially influence binding in the two age groups. In Experiment 2, younger adults exhibited poorer binding performance with sequential relative to simultaneous presentation, and serial position analyses highlighted a particular age-related difficulty remembering the middle item of a series (for all memory conditions). Experiments 1–3 demonstrated small to medium binding effect sizes in older adults across all encoding conditions, with binding less accurate than shape memory. However, younger adults also displayed negative effects of binding (small to large) in two of the experiments. Even when older adults exhibited a greater suffix interference effect in Experiment 3, this was for all memory types, not just binding. We therefore conclude that there is no consistent evidence for a visual binding deficit in healthy older adults. This relative preservation contrasts with the specific and substantial deficits in visual feature binding found in several recent studies of Alzheimer's disease.     

The relationship between family support; pain and depression in elderly with arthritis

The prevalence and chronic nature of arthritis make it the most common cause of disability among U.S.A adults. Family support reduces the negative impact of chronic conditions generally but its role in pain and depression for arthritic conditions is not well understood. A total of 844 males (35.0%) and 1567 females (65.0%) with arthritic conditions (n = 2411) were drawn from the 2012 Health and Retirement Study to examine the effect of family support on pain and depressive symptoms. Using regression analysis and controlling for age, ethnicity, gender, marital/educational status and employment/income, physical function/disability status, pain and antidepressant medications, and other clinical indicators of chronic health conditions, we examined the effects of family support (spouse, children, other) on pain and depression levels. Results indicated that depressive symptoms decreased significantly with strong family and spousal support (p < .05). Pain decreased as support levels increased, but was non-statistically significant. This study provides new insights into the relationship between family support, pain, and depression for individuals with arthritis. Future longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate family support and relationships over a wider spectrum of demographics.     

Intelligence moderates the benefits of strategy instructions on memory performance: an adult-lifespan examination

Whether older adults can compensate for their associative memory deficit by using memory strategies efficiently might depend on their general cognitive abilities. This study examined the moderating role of an IQ estimate on the beneficial effects of strategy instructions. A total of 142 participants (aged 18–85 years) received either intentional learning or strategy (“sentence generation”) instructions during encoding of word pairs. Whereas young adults with a lower IQ benefited from strategy instructions, those with a higher IQ did not, presumably because they already use strategies spontaneously. Older adults showed the opposite effect: following strategy instructions, older adults with a higher IQ showed a strong increase in memory performance (approximately achieving the level of younger adults), whereas older adults with a lower IQ did not, suggesting that they have difficulties implementing the provided strategies. These results highlight the importance of the role of IQ in compensating for the aging-related memory decline.     

Do age-related word retrieval difficulties appear (or disappear) in connected speech?

We conducted a comprehensive literature review of studies of word retrieval in connected speech in healthy aging and reviewed relevant aphasia research that could shed light on the aging literature. Four main hypotheses guided the review: (1) Significant retrieval difficulties would lead to reduced output in connected speech. (2) Significant retrieval difficulties would lead to a more limited lexical variety in connected speech. (3) Significant retrieval difficulties would lead to an increase in word substitution errors and in pronoun use as well as to greater dysfluency and hesitation in connected speech. (4) Retrieval difficulties on tests of single-word production would be associated with measures of word retrieval in connected speech. Studies on aging did not confirm these four hypotheses, unlike studies on aphasia that generally did. The review suggests that future research should investigate how context facilitates word production in old age.     

“We have answered their prayer”: American Jewish old age homes as guardians of religious tradition

ABSTRACT

The old age home was the major American Jewish communal response to aged poverty during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first homes offered a self-conscious projection of their sponsors as socially progressive and compassionate in a new landscape. For a religious community increasingly distanced from formal hierarchies of traditional religious practice, the highly visible performance of good deeds under explicitly Jewish auspices became central to its communal identity. Acting on a combination of compassion and the perceived moral imperative of providing a Jewish environment, the founders and supporters of these homes recast Judaism and Jewish identity through an idealized image of aged piety.     

Telomeres in a Life-Span Perspective: A New "Psychobiomarker"?

ABSTRACT— In order to more fully understand associations between psychological stress and health, it is helpful for researchers to identify "psychobiomarkers," or biological measures that are regulated in part by psychological function and that predict longevity. Telomere length appears to be such a measure. Telomeres, the protective caps at the tips of chromosomes, shorten with age, and this shortening predicts disease and longevity. Leukocyte telomere length may be best viewed through a life-span approach, as it reflects in part the cumulative number of cell divisions that have occurred and the long-term biochemical environment. Recently, a critical mass of studies demonstrated that telomeres appear to shorten with chronic stress, although the mechanisms are unknown. This paper reviews what appear to be malleable determinants of rate of telomere attrition, focusing on early life chronic stressors and metabolic adversity (poor nutrition during development, and obesity). The next generation of research will benefit from experimental and longitudinal models integrating genetic variation, social environments, life experience, and health behaviors.     

The emergence of Cognitive Hearing Science

Cognitive Hearing Science or Auditory Cognitive Science is an emerging field of interdisciplinary research concerning the interactions between hearing and cognition. It follows a trend over the last half century for interdisciplinary fields to develop, beginning with Neuroscience, then Cognitive Science, then Cognitive Neuroscience, and then Cognitive Vision Science. A common theme is that an interdisciplinary approach is necessary to understand complex human behaviors, to develop technologies incorporating knowledge of these behaviors, and to find solutions for individuals with impairments that undermine typical behaviors. Accordingly, researchers in traditional academic disciplines, such as Psychology, Physiology, Linguistics, Philosophy, Anthropology, and Sociology benefit from collaborations with each other, and with researchers in Computer Science and Engineering working on the design of technologies, and with health professionals working with individuals who have impairments. The factors that triggered the emergence of Cognitive Hearing Science include the maturation of the component disciplines of Hearing Science and Cognitive Science, new opportunities to use complex digital signal-processing to design technologies suited to performance in challenging everyday environments, and increasing social imperatives to help people whose communication problems span hearing and cognition. Cognitive Hearing Science is illustrated in research on three general topics: (1) language processing in challenging listening conditions; (2) use of auditory communication technologies or the visual modality to boost performance; (3) changes in performance with development, aging, and rehabilitative training. Future directions for modeling and the translation of research into practice are suggested.     

Connecting the Many Levels and Facets of Cognitive Aging

Basic cognitive mechanisms, such as the abilities to briefly maintain, focus, and process information, decline with age. Related fields of cognitive aging research have been advancing rapidly, but mostly independently, at the biological, information processing, and behavioral levels. To facilitate integration, this article reviews research on cognitive aging at the different levels, and describes a recent integrative theory postulating that aging-related deficiencies in neurotransmission cause increased noise in information processing and less distinctive cortical representation, which in turn lead to cognitive deficits. Aging-related attenuation of catecholaminergic modulation can be modeled by lowering a neural network parameter to reduce the signal-to-noise ratio of information processing. The performance of such models is consistent with benchmark phenomena observed in humans, ranging from age differences in learning rate, asymptotic performance, and interference susceptibility to intra- and interindividual variability and ability dedifferentiation. Although the details of the conjectured sequence of effects linking neuromodulation to cognitive aging deficits await further empirical validation, cross-level theorizing of the kind illustrated here could foster the coevolution of related fields through cross-level data synthesis and hypothesis testing.     

The Relationship of Cognitive Development to Age, When Education and Intelligence Are Controlled For

In this study 165 volunteers aged 18&#x2013;87 were recruited from educational, employment, church, and social organizations and administered 3 paper-and-pencil instruments: the Quick Test, a measure of verbal&#x2013;perceptual intelligence; the Scale of Intellectual Development, a Perry measure of cognitive development; and an inventory of life experiences. Age was found to be negatively related to cognitive development, as was extent of participation in community or church activities, whereas intelligence and education were positively so related. Less dualistic thinking and more relativistic thinking were related to higher educational achievement. Nevertheless, dualistic thinking was found to increase among older age groups, even with intelligence and education controlled for.     

Spirituality Among Older African Americans

Recent changes in gerontology have drawn attention to the role of spirituality among older adults. Demographic trends suggest that the number of African Americans over the age of 65 is increasing, with the largest shift to occur in persons 85 years of age and older. Given the paucity of information available regarding the relationship between spirituality and aging along with the increase in the number of older African Americans, a literature review of these concepts is sorely needed. This paper provides a thorough profile of older African Americans, with a review of historical and cultural factors that have informed the spiritual development of this population. Additionally, attention is given to methodological issues such as definitions, measures, sampling, and research designs at the interface of development and spirituality in this population. The paper also reviews findings to date about the effects of spirituality on physical and mental health among older African Americans.