van Wieringen Astrid, Van Wilderode Mira, Van Humbeeck Nathan, Krampe Ralf
Research Group Experimental Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Research Group Brain and Cognition, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Front Neurosci. 2022 Dec 1;16:1049639. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1049639. eCollection 2022.
The present study explored age effects and the coupling of sensorimotor and cognitive functions in a stratified sample of 96 middle-aged and older adults (age 45-86 years) with no indication of mild cognitive decline. In our sensorimotor tasks, we had an emphasis on listening in noise and postural control, but we also assessed functional mobility and tactile sensitivity.
Our cognitive measures comprised processing speed and assessments of core cognitive control processes (executive functions), notably inhibition, task switching, and working memory updating. We explored whether our measures of sensorimotor functioning mediated age differences in cognitive variables and compared their effect to processing speed. Subsequently, we examined whether individuals who had poorer (or better) than median cognitive performance for their age group also performed relatively poorer (or better) on sensorimotor tasks. Moreover, we examined whether the link between cognitive and sensorimotor functions becomes more pronounced in older age groups.
Except for tactile sensitivity, we observed substantial age-related differences in all sensorimotor and cognitive variables from middle age onward. Processing speed and functional mobility were reliable mediators of age in task switching and inhibitory control. Regarding coupling between sensorimotor and cognition, we observed that individuals with poor cognitive control do not necessarily have poor listening in noise skills or poor postural control.
As most conditions do not show an interdependency between sensorimotor and cognitive performance, other domain-specific factors that were not accounted for must also play a role. These need to be researched in order to gain a better understanding of how rehabilitation may impact cognitive functioning in aging persons.
本研究在96名无轻度认知衰退迹象的中年及老年成年人（年龄45 - 86岁）的分层样本中，探讨了年龄效应以及感觉运动和认知功能的耦合关系。在我们的感觉运动任务中，重点是噪声环境下的听力和姿势控制，但我们也评估了功能活动能力和触觉敏感性。
我们的认知测量包括处理速度以及对核心认知控制过程（执行功能）的评估，特别是抑制、任务切换和工作记忆更新。我们探讨了感觉运动功能测量是否介导了认知变量中的年龄差异，并将其效应与处理速度进行比较。随后，我们研究了在其年龄组中认知表现低于（或高于）中位数的个体在感觉运动任务上是否也表现得相对较差（或较好）。此外，我们研究了认知与感觉运动功能之间的联系在老年组中是否变得更加明显。
除触觉敏感性外，从中年起，我们在所有感觉运动和认知变量中都观察到了显著的年龄相关差异。处理速度和功能活动能力是任务切换和抑制控制中年龄的可靠中介因素。关于感觉运动与认知之间的耦合关系，我们观察到认知控制较差的个体不一定在噪声环境下听力技能差或姿势控制差。
由于大多数情况下感觉运动和认知表现之间不存在相互依存关系，未考虑到的其他特定领域因素也必定发挥了作用。为了更好地理解康复如何影响老年人的认知功能，需要对这些因素进行研究。
