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ThisvolumerepresentstheproceedingsofaNATOAdvancedResearchWorkShop(ARW) on the topic of "Sensorimotor Impairment in the Elderly" held at the Residenz Hotel, Bad Windsheim, Germany, September 11-13, 1992. The Residenz Hotel provided a pleasarit setting for the ARW in a historic environment. ' The motivation of this ARW was to provide some coherence to the widely scattered literature on motorimpairmentsin the elderly by bringing together, for atwo day workshop, many of the prominent individuals who are doing much of the contemporary research on sensorimotor aging. Our hope was to advance knowledge by having tutorial lectures and provocative discussions. As directors, we wanted the ARW to appraise the main theoretical ideas that currently characterize sensorimotor research on older adults. Our hope is that this volume will provide a review of some of the diverse literature on sensorimotor integration problems in the elderly. What was abundantly clear [TOm the presentations and discussions was how much more remains to be discovered about how motor and sensory systems change with age. The stimulus provided by this volume should be an invaluable reference in the years to come. Thevolume isorganized around five topicthemes: SensorimotorIntegration, AgeChanges in Muscle, Posture and Locomotion, Neurological Diseases, and Effects ofTraining. While they are not comprehensive, the topic themes reflect the structure of the ARW. The chapters within each topic discuss many ofthe currently debated questions on sensorimotormechanisms and how they are altered by age.
List of contents
Section 1: Sensorimotor Integration.- Nordic comparison of 75-year-olds -- sensory and psychomotor functions.- Motor performance as a paradigm reflecting the aging process.- Decline of psychomotor performance: calender or health?.- The influence of aging on motor skill learning.- The decline of spatial and temporal abilities with age.- Age-related slowing.- Aging and plasticity of the human motor system: evidence from positron emission tomography (PET).- Section 2: Age Changes in Muscle.- Myoelectric signs of muscle fatigue and physiological tremor from childhood to seniority.- Muscle force generation and age: the role of sex hormones.- What is the cause of the ageing atrophy? Assessment of the fiber type composition in whole human muscles.- Section 3: Posture and Locomotion.- Cognitive processes involved for maintaining postural stability while standing and walking.- Mobility biomechanics in young and old healthy adults.- Postural control in normal subjects and older women who have fallen.- Postural responses of the elderly: comparisons with vestibular- deficit subjects.- Modulations of gait in normal aging and in parkinson's disease.- Age-related changes in visually guided locomotion over different terrains: major issues.- Optical flow as a factor in falling: the case for more research.- Section 4: Neurological Diseases.- Motor slowness in parkinson's disease.- Timing in perceptual and motor tasks in parkinson's disease.- Signal-to-noise ratio of handwriting size, force, and time: Cues to early markers of parkinson's disease?.- Procedural memory, motor skill and degenerative neurological disease.- Effect of age, chronic diseases and parkinsonism on postural control.- Section 5: Effects of Training.- Improvements in balance in the elderly through training insensory organization abilities.- Age and practice effects on force control of the thumb and index fingers in precision pinching and bilateral coordination.- Sensorimotor adaptability in the elderly and disabled.- Years of physical activity can affect simple and complex cognitive/motor speed in older adults.- Author Index.
Summary
Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop, Bad Windsheim, Germany, September 11-13, 1992
