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Dexterous Manipulation Capabilities Are Associated With Change In Discharge Rate Properties Of Motor Neurons With Age, Mukta N. Joshi
Dexterous Manipulation Capabilities Are Associated With Change In Discharge Rate Properties Of Motor Neurons With Age, Mukta N. Joshi
Theses and Dissertations
Aging is accompanied by declines in manual dexterity and fine motor control. The purpose of this research was to compare hand motor control in young and older adults and examine the neuromuscular mechanisms responsible for enabling these interactions. We test force variability during isometric and dynamic contractions, manual dexterity and track motor unit activity to identify the neuromuscular mechanisms responsible for changes in dexterity with age. 26 older adults (66-86 years) and 28 young adults (19 – 38 years) participated in the study. Research participants performed force matching tasks during index finger abduction, precision pinch, static pressing and hybrid force/ …
Eye Movements And Attention Are Related To Impaired Hand Motor Control In Older Adults, Brittany Heintz Walters
Eye Movements And Attention Are Related To Impaired Hand Motor Control In Older Adults, Brittany Heintz Walters
Theses and Dissertations
Visual information is critical for many goal-directed movements and changes in visual information influence hand motor performance in older adults. Knowledge of eye movements during hand motor tasks would provide greater insight into impaired hand function in older adults. This dissertation examined age-related changes in eye movements and the association with hand motor impairments in older adults. Given that attention plays a role in motor performance and declines with age, the relationship between attentional processes and hand motor control was also assessed. A total of 23 young (age 20 – 38) and 28 older (age 65 – 90) adults were …
Memory-Based Viewing: A Potential Marker Of Pathological Aging, Jenna Blujus
Memory-Based Viewing: A Potential Marker Of Pathological Aging, Jenna Blujus
Theses and Dissertations
Markers of cognitive impairment are needed to distinguish normal from pathological aging prior to the onset of clinical symptomology to improve Alzheimer’s disease (AD) treatment or prevention efforts. AD pathology is believed to develop years or even decades prior to diagnosis in medial temporal lobe subregions that provide input to the hippocampus (Braak & Braak, 1991), disrupting the ability of the hippocampus to bind individual elements of an experience to form cohesive memory representations. Eye movement behavior is a sensitive index of learning and effects of memory on eye movements have been shown to emerge rapidly (within 500-750ms of stimuli …
Memory-Based Viewing: A Potential Marker Of Pathological Aging, Jenna Blujus
Memory-Based Viewing: A Potential Marker Of Pathological Aging, Jenna Blujus
Theses and Dissertations
Markers of cognitive impairment are needed to distinguish normal from pathological aging prior to the onset of clinical symptomology to improve Alzheimer’s disease (AD) treatment or prevention efforts. AD pathology is believed to develop years or even decades prior to diagnosis in medial temporal lobe subregions that provide input to the hippocampus (Braak & Braak, 1991), disrupting the ability of the hippocampus to bind individual elements of an experience to form cohesive memory representations. Eye movement behavior is a sensitive index of learning and effects of memory on eye movements have been shown to emerge rapidly (within 500-750ms of stimuli …
Replacing Sedentary Behavior With A Light Intensity Physical Activity In The Homes Of Older Adults, Nicholas Louis Lerma
Replacing Sedentary Behavior With A Light Intensity Physical Activity In The Homes Of Older Adults, Nicholas Louis Lerma
Theses and Dissertations
Aging is positively correlated with time spent in sedentary behavior (SB), which has been found to be linked to premature mortality, cardiovascular disease risk, and functional limitations. Moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) is a potent stimulus for preventing and improving functional limitations in older adults, but less than 17% of the older adult population meets the recommended PA guidelines. While increased time spent in SB is detrimental to health in all, the impact among those that are physically inactive appear to be most pronounced. Recent evidence suggests increasing light-intensity physical activity (LPA) in these populations may provide health benefits and could …
Rescuing Age-Related Proteolysis Deficits With Methylene Blue, Shane E. Pullins
Rescuing Age-Related Proteolysis Deficits With Methylene Blue, Shane E. Pullins
Theses and Dissertations
The average lifespan is constantly increasing with the advent of new medical techniques, and age-related cognitive decline is becoming a prevalent societal issue. Even during healthy aging, humans and rats exhibit progressive deficits in episodic/declarative memory. In laboratory rats, age-related memory impairment can be assessed with trace fear conditioning (TFC). Recent research implicates ubiquitin proteasome system-mediated protein degradation in the synaptic plasticity supporting memory formation and retrieval. In rats, aging leads to decreased basal proteolytic activity in brain structures known to support the acquisition and retrieval of trace fear memories, and our preliminary data suggests activity-dependent proteasome activity declines in …
Influence Of Expectations Of Aging On Older Women’S Use Of Dietary Supplements Using The Health Promotion Theory, Barbara Emily Hekel
Influence Of Expectations Of Aging On Older Women’S Use Of Dietary Supplements Using The Health Promotion Theory, Barbara Emily Hekel
Theses and Dissertations
The use of vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements by older adults is increasing and changing. There are concerns about supplement quality, safety, and vitamin D overuse. Little is known about supplement use by nursing home residents and about factors that influence older women to use supplements. The current study describes the supplement use of 247 nursing home residents and 110 independent living women 65 years or older in the Midwestern United States. A secondary analysis of 247 medication administration records describes the prevalence of vitamin, mineral, and herbal supplement use of nursing home residents. Using the health promotion theory, the …
Apoaequorin Differentially Modulates Fear Conditioning In Adult And Aged Rats, Vanessa Ehlers
Apoaequorin Differentially Modulates Fear Conditioning In Adult And Aged Rats, Vanessa Ehlers
Theses and Dissertations
Normal aging is associated with a number of changes in behavioral and cellular function, and is often linked to increased susceptibility to cognitive impairment. The hippocampus has been widely implicated in learning and memory, and many forms of learning that are hippocampus-dependent (e.g. trace fear conditioning) are impaired in aged animals. A proposed contributor to aging-related cognitive impairment is aging-related calcium (Ca2+) dysregulation. This dysregulation is thought to result from changes in specific Ca2+-regulatory mechanisms, including abnormal Ca2+ ion channel activity or expression, as well as reduced Ca2+-binding protein (CaBP) expression, which is associated with cognitive and synaptic impairment. Previous …
Investigation Of Neural Mechanisms Of Grip Relaxation, Binal Motawar
Investigation Of Neural Mechanisms Of Grip Relaxation, Binal Motawar
Theses and Dissertations
Neural mechanisms for grip relaxation are relatively unknown and understudied, as compared to mechanisms for grip initiation. Yet, termination of motor activity is as important as initiation in daily function. This knowledge gap presents incomplete understanding of neural control of hand function and its impairment with aging and neurologic disorders. The purpose of this dissertation was to identify and examine neural mechanisms of grip relaxation in healthy young adults, with aging, and in chronic stroke survivors. A series of experiments in healthy young adults showed that the relaxation from a maximum power grip was mediated by increase in the short-interval …
Individual, Occupational And Biomechanical Factors That Affect Slip And Fall Risk From Fixed Ladders, Erika Mae Pliner
Individual, Occupational And Biomechanical Factors That Affect Slip And Fall Risk From Fixed Ladders, Erika Mae Pliner
Theses and Dissertations
Injuries from ladder falls are prevalent and severe. Previous research has examined certain elements of ladder falls such as the ladder base slipping, but few studies have examined the factors that contribute to climbers falling from the ladder, particularly for permanent/fixed ladders. In addition, the biomechanical response to a ladder slip/misstep during ladder climbing and the factors that affect a fall from a ladder are not well understood. This thesis is a two part study that simulated ladder slips and missteps in order to find factors 1) associated with ladder slip risk and 2) that decrease fall severity from a …