Week 9 Material

Question 1

Changes in connective tissue with aging.

Answer 1

Decreased proliferation and altered regulation of apoptosis; less responsive to circulating growth factors. They will have less responsive to adaptions in loading; older adults will be depressing synthesis. The connective tissue has a decreased ability to maintain water.

Question 2

Changes in cartilage with aging.

Answer 2

Damage may occur with excessive loading with limited capacity for healing. Calcification of articular cartilage occurs with age, independent of OA, leading to decreased hydration and compromised viscoelastic properties.

Question 3

Changes in skeletal muscle with aging.

Answer 3

Age-related to loss of muscle, and sarcopenia. Metabolic changes alter the muscle’s hypertrophic response.

Question 4

Changes in bone with aging.

Answer 4

Subchondral bone in some joints declines with age. Osteopenia occurs with aging due to increased osteoblast and decreased osteoblast function, leading to an increased risk of osteoporosis and decreased ability to absorb the load.

Question 5

Functional implications of MSK changes with aging.

Answer 5

Loss of ROM, pain, activity and participation restriction, morbidity and mortality.

Question 6

Cardiopulmonary changes with aging.

Answer 6

Decreased maximal HR and decreased stroke volume will lead to decreased cardiac output. Decreased lung volume, decreased oxygen saturation, and decreased impaired peripheral oxygen utilization will lead to decreased oxygen delivery. Overall, we will see a decrease in aerobic capacity.

Question 7

Sensory changes with aging.

Answer 7

Decline in somatic senses. Dizziness and vertigo leads to increased risk for falls. Vision and hearing declines rapidly between 60-80 years of age, leading to decreased acuity, contrast sensitivity, dark adaptation, depth perception, cataracts, and macular degeneration. Decreased taste/smell after 60 years old. These changes make it more likely to fall in new or novel situations compared to younger adults.

Question 8

Neurological changes with aging.

Answer 8

Loss of myelin: slow conduction, slow response time
Axonal loss: decreased muscle activation, reduced sensory perception, slows or altered systemic function.
Waste products accumulate between (plaques) and inside (neurofibrillary tangles) neurons. These changes can lead to difficulty reaching to loss of balance quickly enough to prevent a fall; loss of gastric motility; loss of sensation can lead to risk of injury; and neurofibrillary tangles can be predictive of cognitive decline.

Question 9

Neurological changes with aging, related to the brain.

Answer 9

Neuronal atrophy/cell death will lead to loss of gray matter. Axonal loss and decreased myelination will lead to loss of white matter. Loss is NOT uniform in distribution:
-Prefrontal cortex, striatum, temporal lobe, cerebellum, and hippocampus most impacted.

Question 10

Information processing with aging.

Answer 10

Decreased sensory input, slower reaction time (simple is more minimal compared to choice RT), will choose accuracy over speed (they are more concerned with successful completion rather than how quick they complete the task), and performance declines may be attenuated by compensation, cognitive, and perceptual training.

Question 11

We can see the quickest reaction time in older adults when the motor task is…

Answer 11

Being performed with repetitive movement and without irrelevant stimuli.

Question 12

Older adults are more likely to prioritize motor or cognitive over motor or cognitive tasks.

Answer 12

Motor over cognitive tasks

Question 13

Memory changes with aging.

Answer 13

Working memory: they are still able to chunk, but they do it in smaller chunks.
Episodic memory: retrieval declines.
Semantic memory and remote memory: less age-related decline.
Procedural memory: difficult to accurately evaluate, minimal decline in highly automatic tasks.

Question 14

Postural changes with aging.

Answer 14

Postural alignment: forward head, thoracic kyphosis, and increased lumbar lordosis.
Habitual postures lead to gradual overstretching/weakening of extensor muscles and shortening of flexor muscles, leading to decreased ROM.
These changes may alter the COG or lead to other compensatory postural changes to compensate for this.

Question 15

Steady-state control changes with aging.

Answer 15

Steady-state control: increased sway during steady state, reduced limits of stability. The increased sway may be in part used to enhance sensory inputs, we will see this in ALL directions.
We do need to challenge the system to determine an individual’s true capacity; we can achieve this by having them close their eyes or decreasing their BOS.

Question 16

APA changes with aging.

Answer 16

Slower activation of both postural and prime mover muscles. Decreased latency between postural and prime mover muscle activation at fast speeds. Decreased ability to stabilize the body in advance of voluntary movements.

Question 17

CPA changes with aging.

Answer 17

Takes more than 1 step to restore control: shorter step, slower step velocity, and more co-activation.
Strategies associated with increased fall risk in older adults: lateral stepping, less likely to cross over, and sustaining more limb collisions.

Question 18

Motor learning with aging.

Answer 18

Older adults have reduced performance, but are able to demonstrate motor learning. It will be dependent on the demands of the task:
Simple tasks: similar to younger adults
Complex tasks: more age-related differences
Random task order performance is similar to younger adults.
Repeated sequences performance demonstrates more age-related differences.
Age-related differences in skill acquisition are more commonly detected in fine motor rather than gross motor skills.

Question 19

In regards to motor learning with older adults, how should we approach training?

Answer 19

Training should be specific, function-oriented, precise, and simple. Older adults rely more on visual control to learn precision task. Implicit learning may be better for older adults; attentional cost of explicit learning may have negative effect. Learning is slower compared to younger adults and requires increased repetition. Mental practice of a newly learned motor task enhances retention.

Question 20

Motor learning with aging:
Blocked vs random.
Massed vs distributed.
Part vs whole.

Answer 20

Random practice may decrease performance but enhances retention.
Distributed practice may decrease performance, but enhances retention and reduces risk of injury.
Part vs whole has mixed results. Part may reduce processing demands. Whole practice may produce better movement quality.

Question 21

Motor learning with aging:
KR vs KP

Answer 21

KR: older adults similar to younger adults; increased learning and reduced frequency is better.
KP: 60% is better than 100% or 33%

Question 22

Falls associated with…

Answer 22

Morbidity and mortality
Loss of independence
Social isolation
Fear
Activity restriction

Question 23

Fall risk factors

Answer 23

Muscle weakness, sensory impairments, slower nerve conduction, slower nerve conduction, postural alignment, slower or less effective APA and CPA, and slower processing and response.

Question 24

True or False: body systems do not degrade as much in active adults.

Answer 24

True

Question 25

In active adults, their RT is similar or different to younger adults?

Answer 25

Similar

Question 26

In active, healthy older adults, what three things are closely related?

Answer 26

Intentional exercise, motor learning, and cortical plasticity are closely related.