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Arousal Or Relevance? Applying A Discrete Emotion Perspective To Aging And Affect Regulation, Sara E. Lautzenhiser
Arousal Or Relevance? Applying A Discrete Emotion Perspective To Aging And Affect Regulation, Sara E. Lautzenhiser
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While research in the psychology of human aging suggests that older adults are quite adept at managing negative affect, emotion regulation efficacy may depend on the discrete emotion elicited. For instance, prior research suggests older adults are more effective at dealing with emotional states that are more age-relevant/useful and lower in intensity (i.e., sadness) relative to less relevant/useful or more intense (i.e., anger). The goal of the present study was to probe this discrete emotions perspective further by addressing the relevance/intensity distinction within a broader set of negative affective states (i.e., fear and disgust, along with anger and sadness). Results …
Examining Effects Of Arousal And Valence Across The Adult Lifespan In An Emotional Stroop Task, Samantha E. Tuft
Examining Effects Of Arousal And Valence Across The Adult Lifespan In An Emotional Stroop Task, Samantha E. Tuft
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As age increases, there is evidence that people tend to pay less attention to negative information, pay more attention to positive information, or both. There are many theoretical accounts that attempt to explain this positivity bias. In the current study, I examined positivity effects across the adult lifespan by evaluating competing predictions of two theories: Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, which is based in motivation, and Dynamic Integration Theory, which is based in capacity. Computer mouse tracking was used to examine effects across levels of Valence (negative, neutral, and positive) and Arousal (low, medium, and high) in an emotional Stroop task. Participants …
Recognition Memory Revisited: An Aging And Electrophysiological Investigation, Elliott C. Jardin
Recognition Memory Revisited: An Aging And Electrophysiological Investigation, Elliott C. Jardin
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This study provides a better understanding of contributing factors to age differences in human episodic memory. A recurrent finding in recognition memory is that older adults tend to have lower overall accuracy and tend to make fewer false-alarm errors in judging new items, relative miss errors (Coyne, Allen & Wickens, 1986; Danziger, 1980; Poon and Fozard 1980). Two possible causes for decline in these abilities include an age-related decrement in speed of processing (Salthouse 1991) and changes in information processing ability due to entropy (Allen, Kaufman, Smitch, & Propper 1998a; Mallik et al., in preparation). Additionally, age differences may be …
Recognition Memory Revisited: An Aging And Electrophysiological Investigation, Elliot C. Jardin
Recognition Memory Revisited: An Aging And Electrophysiological Investigation, Elliot C. Jardin
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This study provides a better understanding of contributing factors to age differences in human episodic memory. A recurrent finding in recognition memory is that older adults tend to have lower overall accuracy and tend to make fewer false-alarm errors in judging new items, relative miss errors (Coyne, Allen & Wickens, 1986; Danziger, 1980; Poon and Fozard 1980). Two possible causes for decline in these abilities include an age-related decrement in speed of processing (Salthouse 1991) and changes in information processing ability due to entropy (Allen, Kaufman, Smitch, & Propper 1998a; Mallik et al., in preparation). Additionally, age differences may be …
Change Detection Of Emotional Information Across The Adult Lifespan, Maria J. Donaldson-Misener
Change Detection Of Emotional Information Across The Adult Lifespan, Maria J. Donaldson-Misener
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Visual change detection ability is necessary for successful interaction with the environment, yet few studies have been conducted on change detection with older adults, and whether their use of top-down and bottom-up processing differs from younger adults, especially with emotional processing. Emotions can be motivating and guide the scope of attention using top-down processing and can capture attention in an automatic, bottom-up fashion. Theories of socioemotional aging suggest that younger and older adults may be differentially motivated to process positive and/or negative aspects of the environment, and these tendencies may have implications for age-related trajectories in well-being. Change detection efficacy …
Age And Sex-Specific Effect Of Caloric Restriction On Circadian Clock And Longevity-Associated Gene Expression, Arten Andreyevich Astafev
Age And Sex-Specific Effect Of Caloric Restriction On Circadian Clock And Longevity-Associated Gene Expression, Arten Andreyevich Astafev
ETD Archive
The rhythms in the expression of circadian clock genes are affected by calorie restriction (CR), a dietary paradigm known to increase lifespan. In our current study, we show that circadian rhythms are influenced by sex and the effects of CR are different between males and females. In particular, we found a group of clock genes which showed a sex-dependent difference in expression, as well as in response to CR (Rev-Erb α, Ror γ and both Cryptochromes: Cry1 and Cry2 genes). Two clock genes showed no difference in expression but their response to CR showed sexual dimorphism (Ror α and Rev-Erb …
Bilingualism Across The Adult Life-Span: Age And Language Usage Are Continuous Variables, Sara Incera Burkert
Bilingualism Across The Adult Life-Span: Age And Language Usage Are Continuous Variables, Sara Incera Burkert
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The purpose of this dissertation research was to analyze the effects of bilingualism and age on cognitive function. Specifically, I investigated the impact of bilingualism and age on two measures of executive control. The Stroop task is a measure of response inhibition, and the Flanker task is a measure of attention selection. Participants responded using a computer mouse. The mouse-tracking paradigm allowed me to examine the continuous dynamics of the responses as participants completed each trial. A better understanding of the impact of bilingualism and age on cognitive function has the potential to minimize cognitive decline in older age. The …
Aging And Emotion Recognition: An Examination Of Stimulus And Attentional Mechanisms, Stephanie Nicole Sedall
Aging And Emotion Recognition: An Examination Of Stimulus And Attentional Mechanisms, Stephanie Nicole Sedall
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Emotion recognition is essential for interpersonal communication. However, previous research has suggested that older adults are not as accurate as younger adults in recognizing certain emotions, particularly negative facial expressions of anger, fear, and sadness. Including additional contextual information (e.g., manipulation of certain facial features) might help us better understand these age differences. The present study investigated how potential age differences in emotion recognition are influenced by stimulus factors (target eye gaze direction) as well as facial viewing patterns, cognitive functioning, and physiological processes. A sample of younger and older adults viewed static facial expressions depicting anger, fear, sadness, happiness, …
Circadian Regulation Of Mtor Signaling Via Bmal1 Dependent Mechanism, Rohini Vishal Khapre
Circadian Regulation Of Mtor Signaling Via Bmal1 Dependent Mechanism, Rohini Vishal Khapre
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Understanding mechanisms of aging is important for the treatment and prevention of age-associated pathologies. However, these mechanisms are not well understood. Recently we have demonstrated that the circadian clock (an internal time keeping system) regulates longevity in mammals, but the molecular mechanisms are not known. The aim of our current study is to investigate a possible interconnection between the circadian clock and mTORC1 (mammalian target of Rapamycin) signaling pathway. mTORC1 pathway is a nutrient response pathway involved in many cellular processes many recent studies indicate a role of mTORC1 pathway in aging. Here we demonstrate that circadian system regulates mTORC1 …
Acoustic And Respiratory Measures As A Function Of Age In The Male Voice, Mark Selent
Acoustic And Respiratory Measures As A Function Of Age In The Male Voice, Mark Selent
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The purpose of this study was to extend understanding of the effects of aging on the male voice by obtaining and analyzing both acoustic and respiratory measures across the aging continuum. Aerodynamic measurements such as vital capacity (VC), maximum phonation time (MPT) and the acoustic measurement Speaking Fundamental Frequency (SFF) are used commonly in Speech-language Pathology to aid in the assessment and treatment outcomes of vocal dysfunction. However, current research lacks analysis of the interaction across these parameters within males and younger ages. This information may be important in understanding the normal changes in the speech mechanism with age and …
Effects Of Orientation Change On Spatial Learning Of Novel Environments On Younger And Older Adults, Michael J. Fox
Effects Of Orientation Change On Spatial Learning Of Novel Environments On Younger And Older Adults, Michael J. Fox
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Yamamoto and DeGirolamo (2012) found that increasing age has unequal effects of impairment on spatial learning dependent on the perspective in which an environment is learned. Further, the learned condition of ground-level perspective (first-person exploratory) showed greater decline in elderly participants than was found in aerial (map reading) conditions. These results supported previous research involving fMRI scans implicating the medial temporal lobe (MTL) role in exploratory navigation of novel environments and MRI scans indicating MTL atrophy with age. However, Yamamoto and DeGirolamo (2012) did not consider the effects of conducting the experiment with one condition being presented with changing orientation …
Scalp Eeg And Tms Based Electrophysiological Study Of Brain Function Of Motor Control In Aging, Mehmed Satuk Bayram
Scalp Eeg And Tms Based Electrophysiological Study Of Brain Function Of Motor Control In Aging, Mehmed Satuk Bayram
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Voluntary movements of human body are controlled by the brain through corticomuscular pathways. Although neuromuscular control mechanisms of voluntary movements have been studied extensively, many remain to be learned, especially neuromuscular adaptations related to clinical conditions such as neurological disorders and aging. This research aims at a better understanding of functional connection between the brain and muscle during voluntary motor activities in aging and the extent to which this connection can be changed by training the neuromuscular system. Three research projects were conducted to achieve this aim. The analyses in the first two projects are based on comparisons of non-invasive …
Preliminary Analysis Of The Geriatric Intelligence Test, Adam W. Fominaya
Preliminary Analysis Of The Geriatric Intelligence Test, Adam W. Fominaya
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The Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence was not designed specifically for older adults. Many potential confounding factors occur with greater frequency in the elderly population and these may make the WASI a less appropriate measure of general cognitive functioning. This preliminary study aimed to develop the Geriatric Intelligence Test (GIT). Items were piloted on older adults (>80) who also completed two WASI Subtests. Preliminary results show that multiple GIT subtests are strong predictors of WASI subtest scores and showed good internal consistency. Results will be used to develop a more parsimonious version of the test
Normative Data Collection And Comparison Of Performance On The Poreh Naming Test To The Boston Naming Test, Orion R. Biesan
Normative Data Collection And Comparison Of Performance On The Poreh Naming Test To The Boston Naming Test, Orion R. Biesan
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Although word-finding difficulty is commonly self-reported by older adults, there are no clinical instruments able to reliably distinguish normal age-related effects from pathology in word-finding impairments. The purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) design and evaluate the validity of the Poreh Naming Test, a novel electronic confrontation naming test used to evaluate naming difficulties in demented populations and (2) to investigate the effect of normal aging word-finding abilities on confrontation naming tests, using both accuracy and response latency as performance indices. A community sample was used with each participant being administered the Boston Naming Test, the Poreh Naming Test, …
Time-Of-Day Effects On Younger And Older Adult Executive Functioning, Carly E. Violand
Time-Of-Day Effects On Younger And Older Adult Executive Functioning, Carly E. Violand
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The most recent time-of-day (TOD) body of research has explored how TOD effects can influence certain cognitive domains such as semantic memory, episodic memory, processing speed, and executive functioning (Allen et al., 2008). Research by Horne and Ostberg (1976) has shown how differences in age can be associated with a preference for a certain TOD (i.e., morning or afternoon). Seventy-five percent of adults 65 years or older tend to prefer the morning, whereas fewer than 10 of younger adults tend to prefer the afternoon (Horne & Ostberg, 1976 West et al., 2002). Research by Allen and colleagues (2008) has shown …
Impact Of Sequence And Cognitive Aging On Spatial Learning From Ground Level And Aerial Perspectives, Gregory J. Degirolamo
Impact Of Sequence And Cognitive Aging On Spatial Learning From Ground Level And Aerial Perspectives, Gregory J. Degirolamo
ETD Archive
This study examined the impact of healthy aging on two important factors that are common in spatial learning. The first is the perspective a person views an environment from. The second is the sequence that the items are encountered in the environment. In order to test the effects of these factors on spatial learning, participants watched four videos in which they learned two environments from the ground-level perspective and another two from an aerial perspective. One video of each perspective presented each side of the rectangular layout sequentially and the other presented the layout in a random order. After each …
Employing Strategy In Measures Of Executive Functioning, Amanda A. Yocum
Employing Strategy In Measures Of Executive Functioning, Amanda A. Yocum
ETD Archive
Although various dementia-related executive deficits have been identified, the functional state of the frontal lobe during healthy aging remains unclear (Raz et al., 2005). The proposed study examines the use of strategy in measures of executive functioning in younger and older adults. Specifically, the strategy types of a nonverbal fluency task are shown to differentially correlate with the actual output generated by participants. The strategies employed here are compared between the two age groups, illustrating that older adults use the best strategy significantly less than younger adults, even when controlling for output differences, which may support the frontal lobe hypothesis …