TY  - JOUR
A1  - Beijersbergen, Chantal M. I.
A1  - Hortobagyi, Tibor
A1  - Beurskens, Rainer
A1  - Lenzen-Grossimlinghaus, Romana
A1  - Gabler, Martijn
A1  - Granacher, Urs
T1  - Effects of Power Training on Mobility and Gait Biomechanics in Old Adults with Moderate Mobility Disability: Protocol and Design of the Potsdam Gait Study (POGS)
JF  - Gerontology
N2  - Background: Walking speed decreases in old age. Even though old adults regularly participate in exercise interventions, we do not know how the intervention-induced changes in physical abilities produce faster walking. The Potsdam Gait Study (POGS) will examine the effects of 10 weeks of power training and detraining on leg muscle power and, for the first time, on complete gait biomechanics, including joint kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activation in old adults with moderate mobility disability. Methods/Design: POGS is a randomized controlled trial with two arms, each crossed over, without blinding. Arm 1 starts with a 10-week control period to assess the reliability of the tests and is then crossed over to complete 25-30 training sessions over 10 weeks. Arm 2 completes 25-30 exercise sessions over 10 weeks, followed by a 10-week follow-up (detraining) period. The exercise program is designed to improve lower extremity muscle power. Main outcome measures are: muscle power, gait speed, and gait biomechanics measured at baseline and after 10 weeks of training and 10 weeks of detraining. Discussion: It is expected that power training will increase leg muscle power measured by the weight lifted and by dynamometry, and these increased abilities become expressed in joint powers measured during gait. Such favorably modified powers will underlie the increase in step length, leading ultimately to a faster walking speed. POGS will increase our basic understanding of the biomechanical mechanisms of how power training improves gait speed in old adults with moderate levels of mobility disabilities. (C) 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel
KW  - Aging
KW  - Walking speed
KW  - Exercise
KW  - Muscle power
KW  - Gait kinematics
KW  - Gait kinetics
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1159/000444752
SN  - 0304-324X
SN  - 1423-0003
VL  - 62
SP  - 597
EP  - 603
PB  - Karger
CY  - Basel
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heinzel, Stephan
A1  - Lorenz, Robert C.
A1  - Pelz, Patricia
A1  - Heinz, Andreas
A1  - Walter, Henrik
A1  - Kathmann, Norbert
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
A1  - Stelzel, Christine
T1  - Neural correlates of training and transfer effects in working memory in older adults
JF  - NeuroImage : a journal of brain function
N2  - As indicated by previous research, aging is associated with a decline in working memory (WM) functioning, related to alterations in fronto-parietal neural activations. At the same time, previous studies showed that WM training in older adults may improve the performance in the trained task (training effect), and more importantly, also in untrained WM tasks (transfer effects). However, neural correlates of these transfer effects that would improve understanding of its underlying mechanisms, have not been shown in older participants as yet. In this study, we investigated blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal changes during n-back performance and an untrained delayed recognition (Sternberg) task following 12 sessions (45 min each) of adaptive n-back training in older adults. The Sternberg task used in this study allowed to test for neural training effects independent of specific task affordances of the trained task and to separate maintenance from updating processes. Thirty-two healthy older participants (60-75 years) were assigned either to an n-back training or a no-contact control group. Before (t1) and after (t2) training/waiting period, both the n-back task and the Sternberg task were conducted while BOLD signal was measured using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) in all participants. In addition, neuropsychological tests were performed outside the scanner. WM performance improved with training and behavioral transfer to tests measuring executive functions, processing speed, and fluid intelligence was found. In the training group, BOLD signal in the right lateral middle frontal gyrus/caudal superior frontal sulcus (Brodmann area, BA 6/8) decreased in both the trained n-back and the updating condition of the untrained Sternberg task at t2, compared to the control group. fMRI findings indicate a training-related increase in processing efficiency of WM networks, potentially related to the process of WM updating. Performance gains in untrained tasks suggest that transfer to other cognitive tasks remains possible in aging. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
KW  - Aging
KW  - Working memory
KW  - Training
KW  - Transfer
KW  - Neuroimaging
KW  - fMRI
KW  - Updating
KW  - Executive functions
KW  - Fluid intelligence
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.03.068
SN  - 1053-8119
SN  - 1095-9572
VL  - 134
SP  - 236
EP  - 249
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - San Diego
ER  -