Assistive Technology for Successful Aging: Perspectives from Developmental Behavioral and Neuroscience

Growing into old age is a personal privilege and a societal achievement. However, it is also a challenge for both the individuals and societies. The impressive gains in extending average physical longevity to 75 years and beyond is not necessary accompanied by high-levels of physical, psychological, and brain "fitness". Thus, it is important to seek ways to help older adults maintaining functions in these domains in order to maintain life quality in old age. Adaptive assistive devices and environments are promising technological advancements for promoting successful aging. Sufficient plasticity in the aging psychological and neurocognitive systems are necessary for technologies to engender desired effects. Designs and evaluations of assistive technologies need to consider dynamic changes in developmental resources across the lifespan. This paper reviews evidence of behavioral and neurocognitive plasticity in old age and highlights psychological principles for successful aging technologies.

[1]  K Ann McKibbon,et al.  Current status and future prospects. , 2008, Health information and libraries journal.

[2]  Shu-Chen Li,et al.  Psychological Principles of Successful Aging Technologies: A Mini-Review , 2008, Gerontology.

[3]  F. Craik,et al.  The handbook of aging and cognition (3rd ed.). , 2008 .

[4]  Viktor Müller,et al.  Memory plasticity across the life span: uncovering children's latent potential. , 2007, Developmental psychology.

[5]  Ulman Lindenberger,et al.  Delineating brain–behavior mappings across the lifespan: Substantive and methodological advances in developmental neuroscience , 2006, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.

[6]  L. Nyberg,et al.  The correlative triad among aging, dopamine, and cognition: Current status and future prospects , 2006, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.

[7]  S. MacDonald,et al.  Intra-individual variability in behavior: links to brain structure, neurotransmission and neuronal activity , 2006, Trends in Neurosciences.

[8]  Ulman Lindenberger,et al.  A neurocomputational model of stochastic resonance and aging , 2006, Neurocomputing.

[9]  Frank Rösler,et al.  Lifespan development and the brain: The perspective of biocultural co-constructivism , 2006 .

[10]  Shu-Chen Li,et al.  Dual-tasking postural control: Aging and the effects of cognitive demand in conjunction with focus of attention , 2006, Brain Research Bulletin.

[11]  D. Bouwhuis,et al.  Older adults' motivated choice for technological innovation: evidence for benefit-driven selectivity. , 2006, Psychology and aging.

[12]  Ulman Lindenberger,et al.  Co-constructing human engineering technologies in old age: Lifespan psychology as a conceptual foundation , 2006 .

[13]  Ulman Lindenberger,et al.  Environmental topography and postural control demands shape aging-associated decrements in spatial navigation performance. , 2005, Psychology and aging.

[14]  Cheryl L. Dahle,et al.  Regional brain changes in aging healthy adults: general trends, individual differences and modifiers. , 2005, Cerebral cortex.

[15]  Lars Nyberg,et al.  Cognitive neuroscience of aging : linking cognitive and cerebral aging , 2004 .

[16]  Mandeep K. Dhami,et al.  The role of representative design in an ecological approach to cognition. , 2004, Psychological bulletin.

[17]  Wolfgang Prinz,et al.  Transformations in the Couplings Among Intellectual Abilities and Constituent Cognitive Processes Across the Life Span , 2004, Psychological science.

[18]  Shu-Chen Li,et al.  Brain-Behavior dynamics across the lifespan: Methods and concepts. Conference at Hotel Döllnsee-Schorfheide, September 21-25, 2004. Program & Reader , 2004 .

[19]  Lars Nyberg,et al.  Neural correlates of training-related memory improvement in adulthood and aging , 2003, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[20]  Shu-Chen Li,et al.  Biocultural orchestration of developmental plasticity across levels: the interplay of biology and culture in shaping the mind and behavior across the life span. , 2003, Psychological bulletin.

[21]  U. Lindenberger,et al.  Relations between aging sensory/sensorimotor and cognitive functions , 2002, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.

[22]  井上 眞.  Age-related reduction of extrastriatal dopamine D2 receptor measured by PET , 2002 .

[23]  S. Sikström,et al.  Aging cognition: from neuromodulation to representation , 2001, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[24]  S. Resnick,et al.  Age differences in spatial memory in a virtual environment navigation task , 2001, Neurobiology of Aging.

[25]  John R. Nesselroade,et al.  Short-Term Fluctuations in Elderly People’s Sensorimotor Functioning Predict Text and Spatial Memory Performance: The MacArthur Successful Aging Studies , 2001, Gerontology.

[26]  Lars Farde,et al.  Age-related dopamine D2/D3 receptor loss in extrastriatal regions of the human brain , 2000, Neurobiology of Aging.

[27]  M. Woollacott,et al.  Systems contributing to balance disorders in older adults. , 2000, The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences.

[28]  Ulman Lindenberger,et al.  Unifying cognitive aging: From neuromodulation to representation to cognition , 2000, Neurocomputing.

[29]  Richard S. J. Frackowiak,et al.  Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers. , 2000, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[30]  M. Longair.  The Theoretical Framework , 1998 .

[31]  P. Baltes,et al.  On the incomplete architecture of human ontogeny. Selection, optimization, and compensation as foundation of developmental theory. , 1997, The American psychologist.

[32]  J. Gupta.  A Theoretical Framework , 1997 .

[33]  P. Baltes,et al.  Sensory functioning and intelligence in old age: a strong connection. , 1994, Psychology and aging.

[34]  F. Craik,et al.  The handbook of aging and cognition , 1992 .

[35]  Reinhold Kliegl,et al.  Further Testing of Limits of Cognitive Plasticity: Negative Age Differences in a Mnemonic Skill Are Robust , 1992 .

[36]  R. Dixon,et al.  Psychological compensation: a theoretical framework. , 1992, Psychological bulletin.

[37]  M. Weiser.  The Computer for the Twenty-First Century , 1991 .

[38]  Paul B. Baltes,et al.  Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences , 1990 .

[39]  Carl Wood,et al.  Current Status and Future Prospects , 1984 .

[40]  F. Craik,et al.  On the Transfer of Information from Temporary to Permanent Memory [and Discussion] , 1983 .

[41]  G. Bower.  Analysis of a mnemonic device , 1970 .

[42]  D. D. Bond.  Perspectives in the Behavioral Sciences , 1969 .