@article{HeinzelLorenzBrockhausetal.2014, author = {Heinzel, Stephan and Lorenz, Robert C. and Brockhaus, Wolf-Ruediger and Wuestenberg, Torsten and Kathmann, Norbert and Heinz, Andreas and Rapp, Michael Armin}, title = {Working memory load-dependent brain response predicts behavioral training gains in older adults}, series = {The journal of neuroscience}, volume = {34}, journal = {The journal of neuroscience}, number = {4}, publisher = {Society for Neuroscience}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0270-6474}, doi = {10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2463-13.2014}, pages = {1224 -- 1233}, year = {2014}, abstract = {In the domain of working memory (WM), a sigmoid-shaped relationship between WM load and brain activation patterns has been demonstrated in younger adults. It has been suggested that age-related alterations of this pattern are associated with changes in neural efficiency and capacity. At the same time, WM training studies have shown that some older adults are able to increase their WM performance through training. In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging during an n-back WM task at different WM load levels was applied to compare blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses between younger and older participants and to predict gains in WM performance after a subsequent 12-session WM training procedure in older adults. We show that increased neural efficiency and capacity, as reflected by more "youth-like" brain response patterns in regions of interest of the frontoparietal WM network, were associated with better behavioral training outcome beyond the effects of age, sex, education, gray matter volume, and baseline WM performance. Furthermore, at low difficulty levels, decreases in BOLD response were found after WM training. Results indicate that both neural efficiency (i. e., decreased activation at comparable performance levels) and capacity (i. e., increasing activation with increasing WM load) of a WM-related network predict plasticity of the WM system, whereas WM training may specifically increase neural efficiency in older adults.}, language = {en} } @article{HeinzelRimpelStelzeletal.2017, author = {Heinzel, Stephan and Rimpel, J{\´e}r{\^o}me and Stelzel, Christine and Rapp, Michael Armin}, title = {Transfer Effects to a Multimodal Dual-Task after Working Memory Training and Associated Neural Correlates in Older Adults}, series = {Frontiers in human neuroscience}, volume = {11}, journal = {Frontiers in human neuroscience}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, doi = {10.3389/fnhum.2017.00085}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Working memory (WM) performance declines with age. However, several studies have shown that WM training may lead to performance increases not only in the trained task, but also in untrained cognitive transfer tasks. It has been suggested that transfer effects occur if training task and transfer task share specific processing components that are supposedly processed in the same brain areas. In the current study, we investigated whether single-task WM training and training-related alterations in neural activity might support performance in a dual-task setting, thus assessing transfer effects to higher-order control processes in the context of dual-task coordination. A sample of older adults (age 60-72) was assigned to either a training or control group. The training group participated in 12 sessions of an adaptive n-back training. At pre and post-measurement, a multimodal dual-task was performed in all participants to assess transfer effects. This task consisted of two simultaneous delayed match to sample WM tasks using two different stimulus modalities (visual and auditory) that were performed either in isolation (single-task) or in conjunction (dual-task). A subgroup also participated in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during the performance of the n-back task before and after training. While no transfer to single-task performance was found, dual-task costs in both the visual modality (p < 0.05) and the auditory modality (p < 0.05) decreased at post-measurement in the training but not in the control group. In the fMRI subgroup of the training participants, neural activity changes in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during one-back predicted post-training auditory dual-task costs, while neural activity changes in right DLPFC during three-back predicted visual dual-task costs. Results might indicate an improvement in central executive processing that could facilitate both WM and dual-task coordination.}, language = {en} } @article{Reifegerste2021, author = {Reifegerste, Jana}, title = {The effects of aging on bilingual language}, series = {Bilingualism : language and cognition}, volume = {24}, journal = {Bilingualism : language and cognition}, number = {1}, publisher = {Cambridge Univ. Press}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1366-7289}, doi = {10.1017/S1366728920000413}, pages = {1 -- 17}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Substantial research has examined cognition in aging bilinguals. However, less work has investigated the effects of aging on language itself in bilingualism. In this article I comprehensively review prior research on this topic, and interpret the evidence in light of current theories of aging and theories of bilingualism. First, aging indeed appears to affect bilinguals' language performance, though there is considerable variability in the trajectory across adulthood (declines, age-invariance, and improvements) and in the extent to which these trajectories resemble those found in monolinguals. I argue that these age effects are likely explained by the key opposing forces of increasing experience and cognitive declines in aging. Second, consistent with some theoretical work on bilingual language processing, the grammatical processing mechanisms do not seem to change between younger and older bilingual adults, even after decades of immersion. I conclude by discussing how future research can further advance the field.}, language = {en} } @article{LorenzGleichBecketal.2014, author = {Lorenz, Robert C. and Gleich, Tobias and Beck, Anne and Poehland, Lydia and Raufelder, Diana and Sommer, Werner and Rapp, Michael Armin and Kuehn, Simone and Gallinat, J{\"u}rgen}, title = {Reward anticipation in the adolescent and aging brain}, series = {Human brain mapping : a journal devoted to functional neuroanatomy and neuroimaging}, volume = {35}, journal = {Human brain mapping : a journal devoted to functional neuroanatomy and neuroimaging}, number = {10}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1065-9471}, doi = {10.1002/hbm.22540}, pages = {5153 -- 5165}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Processing of reward is the basis of adaptive behavior of the human being. Neural correlates of reward processing seem to be influenced by developmental changes from adolescence to late adulthood. The aim of this study is to uncover these neural correlates during a slot machine gambling task across the lifespan. Therefore, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate 102 volunteers in three different age groups: 34 adolescents, 34 younger adults, and 34 older adults. We focused on the core reward areas ventral striatum (VS) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), the valence processing associated areas, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and insula, as well as information integration associated areas, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Results showed that VS and VMPFC were characterized by a hyperactivation in adolescents compared with younger adults. Furthermore, the ACC and insula were characterized by a U-shape pattern (hypoactivation in younger adults compared with adolescents and older adults), whereas the DLPFC and IPL were characterized by a J-shaped form (hyperactivation in older adults compared with younger groups). Furthermore, a functional connectivity analysis revealed an elevated negative functional coupling between the inhibition-related area rIFG and VS in younger adults compared with adolescents. Results indicate that lifespan-related changes during reward anticipation are characterized by different trajectories in different reward network modules and support the hypothesis of an imbalance in maturation of striatal and prefrontal cortex in adolescents. Furthermore, these results suggest compensatory age-specific effects in fronto-parietal regions. Hum Brain Mapp 35:5153-5165, 2014. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.}, language = {en} } @article{KehmJaehnertDeubeletal.2020, author = {Kehm, Richard and J{\"a}hnert, Markus and Deubel, Stefanie and Flore, Tanina and K{\"o}nig, Jeannette and Jung, Tobias and Stadion, Mandy and Jonas, Wenke and Sch{\"u}rmann, Annette and Grune, Tilman and H{\"o}hn, Annika}, title = {Redox homeostasis and cell cycle activation mediate beta-cell mass expansion in aged, diabetes-prone mice under metabolic stress conditions: role of thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP)}, series = {Redox Biology}, volume = {37}, journal = {Redox Biology}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {2213-2317}, doi = {10.1016/j.redox.2020.101748}, pages = {11}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Overnutrition contributes to insulin resistance, obesity and metabolic stress, initiating a loss of functional beta-cells and diabetes development. Whether these damaging effects are amplified in advanced age is barely investigated. Therefore, New Zealand Obese (NZO) mice, a well-established model for the investigation of human obesity-associated type 2 diabetes, were fed a metabolically challenging diet with a high-fat, carbohydrate restricted period followed by a carbohydrate intervention in young as well as advanced age. Interestingly, while young NZO mice developed massive hyperglycemia in response to carbohydrate feeding, leading to beta-cell dysfunction and cell death, aged counterparts compensated the increased insulin demand by persistent beta-cell function and beta-cell mass expansion. Beta-cell loss in young NZO islets was linked to increased expression of thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP), presumably initiating an apoptosis-signaling cascade via caspase-3 activation. In contrast, islets of aged NZOs exhibited a sustained redox balance without changes in TXNIP expression, associated with higher proliferative potential by cell cycle activation. These findings support the relevance of a maintained proliferative potential and redox homeostasis for preserving islet functionality under metabolic stress, with the peculiarity that this adaptive response emerged with advanced age in diabetesprone NZO mice.}, language = {en} } @article{ReifegersteElinClahsen2018, author = {Reifegerste, Jana and Elin, Kirill and Clahsen, Harald}, title = {Persistent differences between native speakers and late bilinguals}, series = {Bilingualism : language and cognition}, volume = {22}, journal = {Bilingualism : language and cognition}, number = {3}, publisher = {Cambridge Univ. Press}, address = {New York}, issn = {1366-7289}, doi = {10.1017/S1366728918000615}, pages = {425 -- 440}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Previous research with younger adults has revealed differences between native (L1) and non-native late-bilingual (L2) speakers with respect to how morphologically complex words are processed. This study examines whether these L1/L2 differences persist into old age. We tested masked-priming effects for derived and inflected word forms in older L1 and L2 speakers of German and compared them to results from younger L1 and L2 speakers on the same experiment (mean ages: 62 vs. 24). We found longer overall response times paired with better accuracy scores for older (L1 and L2) participants than for younger participants. The priming patterns, however, were not affected by chronological age. While both L1 and L2 speakers showed derivational priming, only the L1 speakers demonstrated inflectional priming. We argue that general performance in both L1 and L2 is affected by aging, but that the more profound differences between native and non-native processing persist into old age.}, language = {en} } @article{BaeslerMichaelisStibolleretal.2021, author = {Baesler, Jessica and Michaelis, Vivien and Stiboller, Michael and Haase, Hajo and Aschner, Michael and Schwerdtle, Tanja and Sturzenbaum, Stephen R. and Bornhorst, Julia}, title = {Nutritive manganese and zinc overdosing in aging c. elegans result in a metallothionein-mediated alteration in metal homeostasis}, series = {Molecular Nutrition and Food Research}, volume = {65}, journal = {Molecular Nutrition and Food Research}, number = {8}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH GmbH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {1613-4133}, doi = {10.1002/mnfr.202001176}, pages = {1 -- 11}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) are not only essential trace elements, but also potential exogenous risk factors for various diseases. Since the disturbed homeostasis of single metals can result in detrimental health effects, concerns have emerged regarding the consequences of excessive exposures to multiple metals, either via nutritional supplementation or parenteral nutrition. This study focuses on Mn-Zn-interactions in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) model, taking into account aspects related to aging and age-dependent neurodegeneration.}, language = {en} } @article{MalyutinaLaurinavichyuteTerekhinaetal.2018, author = {Malyutina, Svetlana and Laurinavichyute, Anna and Terekhina, Maria and Lapin, Yevgeniy}, title = {No evidence for strategic nature of age-related slowing in sentence processing}, series = {Psychology and aging}, volume = {33}, journal = {Psychology and aging}, number = {7}, publisher = {American Psychological Association}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0882-7974}, doi = {10.1037/pag0000302}, pages = {1045 -- 1059}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Older adults demonstrate a slower speed of linguistic processing, including sentence processing. In nonlinguistic cognitive domains such as memory, research suggests that age-related slowing of processing speed may be a strategy adopted in order to avoid potential error and/or to spare "cognitive resources." So far, very few studies have tested whether older adults' slower processing speed in the linguistic domain has a strategic nature as well. To fill this gap, we tested whether older adults can maintain language processing accuracy when a faster processing speed is enforced externally. Specifically, we compared sentence comprehension accuracy in younger and older adults when sentences were presented at the participant's median self-paced reading speed versus twice as fast. We hypothesized that an external speed increase will cause a smaller accuracy decline in older than younger adults because older adults tend to adopt self-paced processing speeds "further away" from their performance limits. The hypothesis was not confirmed: The decline in accuracy due to faster presentation did not differ by age group. Thus, we found no evidence for strategic nature of age-related slowing of sentence processing. On the basis of our experimental design, we suggest that the age-related slowing of sentence processing is caused not only by motor slowdown, but also by a slowdown in cognitive processing}, language = {en} } @article{GrajaGarciaCarrizoJanketal.2018, author = {Graja, Antonia and Garcia-Carrizo, Francisco and Jank, Anne-Marie and Gohlke, Sabrina and Ambrosi, Thomas H. and Jonas, Wenke and Ussar, Siegfried and Kern, Matthias and Sch{\"u}rmann, Annette and Aleksandrova, Krasimira and Bluher, Matthias and Schulz, Tim Julius}, title = {Loss of periostin occurs in aging adipose tissue of mice and its genetic ablation impairs adipose tissue lipid metabolism}, series = {Aging Cell}, volume = {17}, journal = {Aging Cell}, number = {5}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1474-9718}, doi = {10.1111/acel.12810}, pages = {13}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Remodeling of the extracellular matrix is a key component of the metabolic adaptations of adipose tissue in response to dietary and physiological challenges. Disruption of its integrity is a well-known aspect of adipose tissue dysfunction, for instance, during aging and obesity. Adipocyte regeneration from a tissue-resident pool of mesenchymal stem cells is part of normal tissue homeostasis. Among the pathophysiological consequences of adipogenic stem cell aging, characteristic changes in the secretory phenotype, which includes matrix-modifying proteins, have been described. Here, we show that the expression of the matricellular protein periostin, a component of the extracellular matrix produced and secreted by adipose tissue-resident interstitial cells, is markedly decreased in aged brown and white adipose tissue depots. Using a mouse model, we demonstrate that the adaptation of adipose tissue to adrenergic stimulation and high-fat diet feeding is impaired in animals with systemic ablation of the gene encoding for periostin. Our data suggest that loss of periostin attenuates lipid metabolism in adipose tissue, thus recapitulating one aspect of age-related metabolic dysfunction. In human white adipose tissue, periostin expression showed an unexpected positive correlation with age of study participants. This correlation, however, was no longer evident after adjusting for BMI or plasma lipid and liver function biomarkers. These findings taken together suggest that age-related alterations of the adipose tissue extracellular matrix may contribute to the development of metabolic disease by negatively affecting nutrient homeostasis.}, language = {en} } @article{Goychuk2014, author = {Goychuk, Igor}, title = {Life and death of stationary linear response in anomalous continuous time random walk dynamics}, series = {Communications in theoretical physics : a series journal of the Chinese Physical Society (A)}, volume = {62}, journal = {Communications in theoretical physics : a series journal of the Chinese Physical Society (A)}, number = {4}, publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.}, address = {Bristol}, issn = {0253-6102}, pages = {497 -- 504}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Linear theory of stationary response in systems at thermal equilibrium requires to find equilibrium correlation function of unperturbed responding system. Studies of the response of the systems exhibiting anomalously slow dynamics are often based on the continuous time random walk description (CTRW) with divergent mean waiting times. The bulk of the literature on anomalous response contains linear response functions like one by Cole-Cole calculated from such a CTRW theory and applied to systems at thermal equilibrium. Here we show within a fairly simple and general model that for the systems with divergent mean waiting times the stationary response at thermal equilibrium is absent, in accordance with some recent studies. The absence of such stationary response (or dying to zero non-stationary response in aging experiments) would confirm CTRW with divergent mean waiting times as underlying physical relaxation mechanism, but reject it otherwise. We show that the absence of stationary response is closely related to the breaking of ergodicity of the corresponding dynamical variable. As an important new result, we derive a generalized Cole-Cole response within ergodic CTRW dynamics with finite waiting time. Moreover, we provide a physically reasonable explanation of the origin and wide presence of 1/f noise in condensed matter for ergodic dynamics close to normal, rather than strongly deviating.}, language = {en} } @article{PassowWesterhausenWartenburgeretal.2012, author = {Passow, Susanne and Westerhausen, Rene and Wartenburger, Isabell and Hugdahl, Kenneth and Heekeren, Hauke R. and Lindenberger, Ulman and Li, Shu-Chen}, title = {Human aging compromises attentional control of auditory perception}, series = {Psychology and aging}, volume = {27}, journal = {Psychology and aging}, number = {1}, publisher = {American Psychological Association}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0882-7974}, doi = {10.1037/a0025667}, pages = {99 -- 105}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Older adults often experience hearing difficulties in multitalker situations. Attentional control of auditory perception is crucial in situations where a plethora of auditory inputs compete for further processing. We combined an intensity-modulated dichotic listening paradigm with attentional manipulations to study adult age differences in the interplay between perceptual saliency and attentional control of auditory processing. When confronted with two competing sources of verbal auditory input, older adults modulated their attention less flexibly and were more driven by perceptual saliency than younger adults. These findings suggest that aging severely impairs the attentional regulation of auditory perception.}, language = {en} } @article{HortobagyiGranacherFernandezdelOlmoetal.2020, author = {Hortobagyi, Tibor and Granacher, Urs and Fernandez-del-Olmo, Miguel and Howatson, Glyn and Manca, Andrea and Deriu, Franca and Taube, Wolfgang and Gruber, Markus and Marquez, Gonzalo and Lundbye-Jensen, Jesper and Colomer-Poveda, David}, title = {Functional relevance of resistance training-induced neuroplasticity in health and disease}, series = {Neuroscience \& biobehavioral reviews : official journal of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society}, volume = {122}, journal = {Neuroscience \& biobehavioral reviews : official journal of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0149-7634}, doi = {10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.12.019}, pages = {79 -- 91}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Repetitive, monotonic, and effortful voluntary muscle contractions performed for just a few weeks, i.e., resistance training, can substantially increase maximal voluntary force in the practiced task and can also increase gross motor performance. The increase in motor performance is often accompanied by neuroplastic adaptations in the central nervous system. While historical data assigned functional relevance to such adaptations induced by resistance training, this claim has not yet been systematically and critically examined in the context of motor performance across the lifespan in health and disease. A review of muscle activation, brain and peripheral nerve stimulation, and imaging data revealed that increases in motor performance and neuroplasticity tend to be uncoupled, making a mechanistic link between neuroplasticity and motor performance inconclusive. We recommend new approaches, including causal mediation analytical and hypothesis-driven models to substantiate the functional relevance of resistance training-induced neuroplasticity in the improvements of gross motor function across the lifespan in health and disease.}, language = {en} } @article{PassowWesterhausenHugdahletal.2014, author = {Passow, Susanne and Westerhausen, Rene and Hugdahl, Kenneth and Wartenburger, Isabell and Heekeren, Hauke R. and Lindenberger, Ulman and Li, Shu-Chen}, title = {Electrophysiological correlates of adult age differences in attentional control of auditory processing}, series = {Cerebral cortex}, volume = {24}, journal = {Cerebral cortex}, number = {1}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Cary}, issn = {1047-3211}, doi = {10.1093/cercor/bhs306}, pages = {249 -- 260}, year = {2014}, abstract = {In addition to sensory decline, age-related losses in auditory perception also reflect impairments in attentional modulation of perceptual saliency. Using an attention and intensity-modulated dichotic listening paradigm, we investigated electrophysiological correlates of processing conflicts between attentional focus and perceptual saliency in 25 younger and 26 older adults. Participants were instructed to attend to the right or left ear, and perceptual saliency was manipulated by varying the intensities of both ears. Attentional control demand was higher in conditions when attentional focus and perceptual saliency favored opposing ears than in conditions without such conflicts. Relative to younger adults, older adults modulated their attention less flexibly and were more influenced by perceptual saliency. Our results show, for the first time, that in younger adults a late negativity in the event-related potential (ERP) at fronto-central and parietal electrodes was sensitive to perceptual-attentional conflicts during auditory processing (N450 modulation effect). Crucially, the magnitude of the N450 modulation effect correlated positively with task performance. In line with lower attentional flexibility, the ERP waveforms of older adults showed absence of the late negativity and the modulation effect. This suggests that aging compromises the activation of the frontoparietal attentional network when processing the competing and conflicting auditory information.}, language = {en} } @article{ZouitaZouhalFerchichietal.2020, author = {Zouita, Sghaier and Zouhal, Hassane and Ferchichi, Habiba and Paillard, Thierry and Dziri, Catherine and Hackney, Anthony C. and Laher, Ismail and Granacher, Urs and Ben Moussa Zouita, Amira}, title = {Effects of Combined Balance and Strength Training on Measures of Balance and Muscle Strength in Older Women With a History of Falls}, series = {Frontiers in Physiology}, volume = {11}, journal = {Frontiers in Physiology}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-042X}, doi = {10.3389/fphys.2020.619016}, pages = {13}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Objective: We investigated the effects of combined balance and strength training on measures of balance and muscle strength in older women with a history of falls. Methods: Twenty-seven older women aged 70.4 ± 4.1 years (age range: 65 to 75 years) were randomly allocated to either an intervention (IG, n = 12) or an active control (CG, n = 15) group. The IG completed 8 weeks combined balance and strength training program with three sessions per week including visual biofeedback using force plates. The CG received physical therapy and gait training at a rehabilitation center. Training volumes were similar between the groups. Pre and post training, tests were applied for the assessment of muscle strength (weight-bearing squat [WBS] by measuring the percentage of body mass borne by each leg at different knee flexions [0°, 30°, 60°, and 90°], sit-to-stand test [STS]), and balance. Balance tests used the modified clinical test of sensory interaction (mCTSIB) with eyes closed (EC) and opened (EO), on stable (firm) and unstable (foam) surfaces as well as spatial parameters of gait such as step width and length (cm) and walking speed (cm/s). Results: Significant group × time interactions were found for different degrees of knee flexion during WBS (0.0001 < p < 0.013, 0.441 < d < 0.762). Post hoc tests revealed significant pre-to-post improvements for both legs and for all degrees of flexion (0.0001 < p < 0.002, 0.697 < d < 1.875) for IG compared to CG. Significant group × time interactions were found for firm EO, foam EO, firm EC, and foam EC (0.006 < p < 0.029; 0.302 < d < 0.518). Post hoc tests showed significant pre-to-post improvements for both legs and for all degrees of oscillations (0.0001 < p < 0.004, 0.753 < d < 2.097) for IG compared to CG. This study indicates that combined balance and strength training improved percentage distribution of body weight between legs at different conditions of knee flexion (0°, 30°, 60°, and 90°) and also decreased the sway oscillation on a firm surface with eyes closed, and on foam surface (with eyes opened or closed) in the IG. Conclusion: The higher positive effects of training seen in standing balance tests, compared with dynamic tests, suggests that balance training exercises including lateral, forward, and backward exercises improved static balance to a greater extent in older women.}, language = {en} } @article{ReifegersteJarvisFelser2020, author = {Reifegerste, Jana and Jarvis, Rebecca and Felser, Claudia}, title = {Effects of chronological age on native and nonnative sentence processing}, series = {Journal of memory and language}, volume = {111}, journal = {Journal of memory and language}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam [u.a.]}, issn = {0749-596X}, doi = {10.1016/j.jml.2019.104083}, pages = {23}, year = {2020}, abstract = {While much attention has been devoted to the cognition of aging multilingual individuals, little is known about how age affects their grammatical processing. We assessed subject-verb number-agreement processing in sixty native (L1) and sixty non-native (L2) speakers of German (age: 18-84) using a binary-choice sentence-completion task, along with various individual-differences tests. Our results revealed differential effects of age on L1 and L2 speakers' accuracy and reaction times (RTs). L1 speakers' RTs increased with age, and they became more susceptible to attraction errors. In contrast, L2 speakers' RTs decreased, once age-related slowing was controlled for, and their overall accuracy increased. We interpret this as resulting from increased L2 exposure. Moreover, L2 speakers' accuracy/RT patterns were more strongly affected by cognitive variables (working memory, interference control) than L1 speakers'. Our findings show that as regards bilinguals' grammatical processing ability, aging is associated with both gains (in experience) and losses (in cognitive abilities).}, language = {en} } @article{PassowMuellerWesterhausenetal.2013, author = {Passow, Susanne and M{\"u}ller, Maike and Westerhausen, Rene and Hugdahl, Kenneth and Wartenburger, Isabell and Heekeren, Hauke R. and Lindenberger, Ulman and Li, Shu-Chen}, title = {Development of attentional control of verbal auditory perception from middle to late childhood - comparisons to healthy aging}, series = {Developmental psychology}, volume = {49}, journal = {Developmental psychology}, number = {10}, publisher = {American Psychological Association}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0012-1649}, doi = {10.1037/a0031207}, pages = {1982 -- 1993}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Multitalker situations confront listeners with a plethora of competing auditory inputs, and hence require selective attention to relevant information, especially when the perceptual saliency of distracting inputs is high. This study augmented the classical forced-attention dichotic listening paradigm by adding an interaural intensity manipulation to investigate developmental differences in the interplay between perceptual saliency and attentional control during auditory processing between early and middle childhood. We found that older children were able to flexibly focus on instructed auditory inputs from either the right or the left ear, overcoming the effects of perceptual saliency. In contrast, younger children implemented their attentional focus less efficiently. Direct comparisons of the present data with data from a recently published study of younger and older adults from our group suggest that younger children and older adults show similar levels of performance. Critically, follow-up comparisons revealed that younger children's performance restrictions reflect difficulties in attentional control only, whereas older adults' performance deficits also reflect an exaggerated reliance on perceptual saliency. We conclude that auditory attentional control improves considerably from middle to late childhood and that auditory attention deficits in healthy aging cannot be reduced to a simple reversal of child developmental improvements.}, language = {en} } @article{KoenigAblerAgartzetal.2020, author = {Koenig, Julian and Abler, Birgit and Agartz, Ingrid and akerstedt, Torbjorn and Andreassen, Ole A. and Anthony, Mia and Baer, Karl-Juergen and Bertsch, Katja and Brown, Rebecca C. and Brunner, Romuald and Carnevali, Luca and Critchley, Hugo D. and Cullen, Kathryn R. and de Geus, Eco J. C. and de la Cruz, Feliberto and Dziobek, Isabel and Ferger, Marc D. and Fischer, Hakan and Flor, Herta and Gaebler, Michael and Gianaros, Peter J. and Giummarra, Melita J. and Greening, Steven G. and Guendelman, Simon and Heathers, James A. J. and Herpertz, Sabine C. and Hu, Mandy X. and Jentschke, Sebastian and Kaess, Michael and Kaufmann, Tobias and Klimes-Dougan, Bonnie and Koelsch, Stefan and Krauch, Marlene and Kumral, Deniz and Lamers, Femke and Lee, Tae-Ho and Lekander, Mats and Lin, Feng and Lotze, Martin and Makovac, Elena and Mancini, Matteo and Mancke, Falk and Mansson, Kristoffer N. T. and Manuck, Stephen B. and Mather, Mara and Meeten, Frances and Min, Jungwon and Mueller, Bryon and Muench, Vera and Nees, Frauke and Nga, Lin and Nilsonne, Gustav and Ordonez Acuna, Daniela and Osnes, Berge and Ottaviani, Cristina and Penninx, Brenda W. J. H. and Ponzio, Allison and Poudel, Govinda R. and Reinelt, Janis and Ren, Ping and Sakaki, Michiko and Schumann, Andy and Sorensen, Lin and Specht, Karsten and Straub, Joana and Tamm, Sandra and Thai, Michelle and Thayer, Julian F. and Ubani, Benjamin and van Der Mee, Denise J. and van Velzen, Laura S. and Ventura-Bort, Carlos and Villringer, Arno and Watson, David R. and Wei, Luqing and Wendt, Julia and Schreiner, Melinda Westlund and Westlye, Lars T. and Weymar, Mathias and Winkelmann, Tobias and Wu, Guo-Rong and Yoo, Hyun Joo and Quintana, Daniel S.}, title = {Cortical thickness and resting-state cardiac function across the lifespan}, series = {Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research}, volume = {58}, journal = {Psychophysiology : journal of the Society for Psychophysiological Research}, number = {7}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0048-5772}, doi = {10.1111/psyp.13688}, pages = {16}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Understanding the association between autonomic nervous system [ANS] function and brain morphology across the lifespan provides important insights into neurovisceral mechanisms underlying health and disease. Resting-state ANS activity, indexed by measures of heart rate [HR] and its variability [HRV] has been associated with brain morphology, particularly cortical thickness [CT]. While findings have been mixed regarding the anatomical distribution and direction of the associations, these inconsistencies may be due to sex and age differences in HR/HRV and CT. Previous studies have been limited by small sample sizes, which impede the assessment of sex differences and aging effects on the association between ANS function and CT. To overcome these limitations, 20 groups worldwide contributed data collected under similar protocols of CT assessment and HR/HRV recording to be pooled in a mega-analysis (N = 1,218 (50.5\% female), mean age 36.7 years (range: 12-87)). Findings suggest a decline in HRV as well as CT with increasing age. CT, particularly in the orbitofrontal cortex, explained additional variance in HRV, beyond the effects of aging. This pattern of results may suggest that the decline in HRV with increasing age is related to a decline in orbitofrontal CT. These effects were independent of sex and specific to HRV; with no significant association between CT and HR. Greater CT across the adult lifespan may be vital for the maintenance of healthy cardiac regulation via the ANS-or greater cardiac vagal activity as indirectly reflected in HRV may slow brain atrophy. Findings reveal an important association between CT and cardiac parasympathetic activity with implications for healthy aging and longevity that should be studied further in longitudinal research.}, language = {en} } @article{NinausMoellerKaufmannetal.2017, author = {Ninaus, Manuel and Moeller, Korbinian and Kaufmann, Liane and Fischer, Martin H. and Nuerk, Hans-Christoph and Wood, Guilherme}, title = {Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Directional and Non-directional Spatial-Numerical Associations across the Lifespan}, series = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {8}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01421}, pages = {13}, year = {2017}, abstract = {There is accumulating evidence suggesting an association of numbers with physical space. However, the origin of such spatial-numerical associations (SNAs) is still debated. In the present study we investigated the development of two SNAs in a cross-sectional study involving children, young and middle-aged adults as well as the elderly: (1) the SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect, reflecting a directional SNA; and (2) the numerical bisection bias in a line bisection task with numerical flankers. Results revealed a consistent SNARC effect in all age groups that continuously increased with age. In contrast, a numerical bisection bias was only observed for children and elderly participants, implying an U-shaped distribution of this bias across age groups. Additionally, individual SNARC effects and numerical bisection biases did not correlate significantly. We argue that the SNARC effect seems to be influenced by longer-lasting experiences of cultural constraints such as reading and writing direction and may thus reflect embodied representations. Contrarily, the numerical bisection bias may originate from insufficient inhibition of the semantic influence of irrelevant numerical flankers, which should be more pronounced in children and elderly people due to development and decline of cognitive control, respectively. As there is an ongoing debate on the origins of SNAs in general and the SNARC effect in particular, the present results are discussed in light of these differing accounts in an integrative approach. However, taken together, the present pattern of results suggests that different cognitive mechanisms underlie the SNARC effect and the numerical bisection bias.}, language = {en} } @article{StelzelSchauenburgRappetal.2017, author = {Stelzel, Christine and Schauenburg, Gesche and Rapp, Michael Armin and Heinzel, Stephan and Granacher, Urs}, title = {Age-Related Interference between the Selection of Input-Output Modality Mappings and Postural Control-a Pilot Study}, series = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {8}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00613}, pages = {15}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Age-related decline in executive functions and postural control due to degenerative processes in the central nervous system have been related to increased fall-risk in old age. Many studies have shown cognitive-postural dual-task interference in old adults, but research on the role of specific executive functions in this context has just begun. In this study, we addressed the question whether postural control is impaired depending on the coordination of concurrent response-selection processes related to the compatibility of input and output modality mappings as compared to impairments related to working-memory load in the comparison of cognitive dual and single tasks. Specifically, we measured total center of pressure (CoP) displacements in healthy female participants aged 19-30 and 66-84 years while they performed different versions of a spatial one-back working memory task during semi-tandem stance on an unstable surface (i.e., balance pad) while standing on a force plate. The specific working-memory tasks comprised: (i) modality compatible single tasks (i.e., visual-manual or auditory-vocal tasks), (ii) modality compatible dual tasks (i.e., visual-manual and auditory-vocal tasks), (iii) modality incompatible single tasks (i.e., visual-vocal or auditory-manual tasks), and (iv) modality incompatible dual tasks (i.e., visual-vocal and auditory-manual tasks). In addition, participants performed the same tasks while sitting. As expected from previous research, old adults showed generally impaired performance under high working-memory load (i.e., dual vs. single one-back task). In addition, modality compatibility affected one-back performance in dual-task but not in single-task conditions with strikingly pronounced impairments in old adults. Notably, the modality incompatible dual task also resulted in a selective increase in total CoP displacements compared to the modality compatible dual task in the old but not in the young participants. These results suggest that in addition to effects of working-memory load, processes related to simultaneously overcoming special linkages between input-and output modalities interfere with postural control in old but not in young female adults. Our preliminary data provide further evidence for the involvement of cognitive control processes in postural tasks.}, language = {en} } @article{StelzelSchauenburgRappetal.2017, author = {Stelzel, Christine and Schauenburg, Gesche and Rapp, Michael Armin and Heinzel, Stephan and Granacher, Urs}, title = {Age-Related Interference between the Selection of Input-Output Modality Mappings and Postural Control}, series = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {8}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00613}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Age-related decline in executive functions and postural control due to degenerative processes in the central nervous system have been related to increased fall-risk in old age. Many studies have shown cognitive-postural dual-task interference in old adults, but research on the role of specific executive functions in this context has just begun. In this study, we addressed the question whether postural control is impaired depending on the coordination of concurrent response-selection processes related to the compatibility of input and output modality mappings as compared to impairments related to working-memory load in the comparison of cognitive dual and single tasks. Specifically, we measured total center of pressure (CoP) displacements in healthy female participants aged 19-30 and 66-84 years while they performed different versions of a spatial one-back working memory task during semi-tandem stance on an unstable surface (i.e., balance pad) while standing on a force plate. The specific working-memory tasks comprised: (i) modality compatible single tasks (i.e., visual-manual or auditory-vocal tasks), (ii) modality compatible dual tasks (i.e., visual-manual and auditory-vocal tasks), (iii) modality incompatible single tasks (i.e., visual-vocal or auditory-manual tasks), and (iv) modality incompatible dual tasks (i.e., visual-vocal and auditory-manual tasks). In addition, participants performed the same tasks while sitting. As expected from previous research, old adults showed generally impaired performance under high working-memory load (i.e., dual vs. single one-back task). In addition, modality compatibility affected one-back performance in dual-task but not in single-task conditions with strikingly pronounced impairments in old adults. Notably, the modality incompatible dual task also resulted in a selective increase in total CoP displacements compared to the modality compatible dual task in the old but not in the young participants. These results suggest that in addition to effects of working-memory load, processes related to simultaneously overcoming special linkages between input- and output modalities interfere with postural control in old but not in young female adults. Our preliminary data provide further evidence for the involvement of cognitive control processes in postural tasks.}, language = {en} }