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NEW
Tongue Tracker (TT) is a new tool to assess bulbar dysfunction Bulbar symptoms, including difficulty swallowing and speaking, are common in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurological disorders, such as stroke. We developed an open-source tool called Tongue Tracker (TT) to quantify bulbar function by training a neural network to track kinematic tongue features of short video clips of lateral tongue movements. TT may serve to detect quantitative markers of bulbar dysfunction in ALS and other motor disorders, such as stroke, by identifying signatures of spasticity or muscle weakness that affects tongue movement speed and/or tongue movement topography. Read the full paper: [link] |
RESEARCH
Impaired remapping of social relationships in older adults
Social relationships are a central aspect of our everyday life, yet our ability to change established social relationships is an under-investigated topic. Here, we use the concept of cognitive mapping to investigate the plasticity of social relationships in younger and older adults. We describe social relationships within a ‘social space’, defined as a two-dimensional grid composed of the axis ‘power’ and ‘affiliation’, and investigate it using a 3D virtual environment with interacting avatars. We show that participants remap dimensions in ‘social space’ when avatars show conflicting behavior compared to consistent behavior and that, while older adults show similar updating behavior than younger adults, they show a distinct reduction in remapping social space. Our data provide first evidence that older adults show more rigid social behavior when avatars change their behavior in the dimensions of power and affiliation, which may explain age-related social behavior differences in everyday life.
Read the full paper: [link]
Impaired remapping of social relationships in older adults
Social relationships are a central aspect of our everyday life, yet our ability to change established social relationships is an under-investigated topic. Here, we use the concept of cognitive mapping to investigate the plasticity of social relationships in younger and older adults. We describe social relationships within a ‘social space’, defined as a two-dimensional grid composed of the axis ‘power’ and ‘affiliation’, and investigate it using a 3D virtual environment with interacting avatars. We show that participants remap dimensions in ‘social space’ when avatars show conflicting behavior compared to consistent behavior and that, while older adults show similar updating behavior than younger adults, they show a distinct reduction in remapping social space. Our data provide first evidence that older adults show more rigid social behavior when avatars change their behavior in the dimensions of power and affiliation, which may explain age-related social behavior differences in everyday life.
Read the full paper: [link]
OHBM 2021
See here Video presentations by Alicia Northall, Peng Liu and Juliane Döhler on human sensorimotor aging described with 7T-MRI
See here Video presentations by Alicia Northall, Peng Liu and Juliane Döhler on human sensorimotor aging described with 7T-MRI
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METHOD
Topographic layer imaging as a tool to track neurodegenerative disease spread in M1
A recent review in Nat Rev Neurosci by McColgan et al. (2020) summarizes research that uses layer-dependent neuroimaging to understand the disease pathology of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In our commentary to this article, Stefanie Schreiber and me argue that one important feature that is often left out when diagnosing and analyzing disease spread in M1 is the inhomogeneous architecture of M1 with respect to cortical layers but also topographic units. Therefore, we propose that combining 3D layer imaging with topographic mapping serves as ideal tool to understand which microstructural changes in M1 determine disease progression.
Read the full commentary in Nat Rev Neurosci: [link]
Topographic layer imaging as a tool to track neurodegenerative disease spread in M1
A recent review in Nat Rev Neurosci by McColgan et al. (2020) summarizes research that uses layer-dependent neuroimaging to understand the disease pathology of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In our commentary to this article, Stefanie Schreiber and me argue that one important feature that is often left out when diagnosing and analyzing disease spread in M1 is the inhomogeneous architecture of M1 with respect to cortical layers but also topographic units. Therefore, we propose that combining 3D layer imaging with topographic mapping serves as ideal tool to understand which microstructural changes in M1 determine disease progression.
Read the full commentary in Nat Rev Neurosci: [link]
RESEARCH
The organizational principles of 'de-differentiated' cortical maps
A common model of cortical aging assumes more de-differentiated cortical maps that link to worse everyday behavior. We showed using 7 Tesla MRI that older adults' S1 maps are not more de-differentiated then younger adults' maps when looking at standard markers of cortical de-differentiation such as activation amplitude or map size. Rather, they show specific local and global map changes, where smaller distances between D2 and D3 link to better everyday behavior of the hand.
Read the full eLife paper: [link]
The organizational principles of 'de-differentiated' cortical maps
A common model of cortical aging assumes more de-differentiated cortical maps that link to worse everyday behavior. We showed using 7 Tesla MRI that older adults' S1 maps are not more de-differentiated then younger adults' maps when looking at standard markers of cortical de-differentiation such as activation amplitude or map size. Rather, they show specific local and global map changes, where smaller distances between D2 and D3 link to better everyday behavior of the hand.
Read the full eLife paper: [link]
RESEARCH
Preserved body representations in advanced age
The rubber hand illusion is an often used paradigm to investigate multisensory body representations in health and disease. Here, we used the rubber hand paradigm to answer the question whether or not the visual-tactile integration of bodily signals and the associated feeling of bodily ownership changes with increasing age. We show that there is no difference in explicit and implicit markers of the rubber hand illusion between younger adults (aged 20-30 years) and older adults (aged > 65 years). This indicates preserved pathways for establishing a multisensory representation of the bodily self in advanced age.
Read the full paper: [link]
Preserved body representations in advanced age
The rubber hand illusion is an often used paradigm to investigate multisensory body representations in health and disease. Here, we used the rubber hand paradigm to answer the question whether or not the visual-tactile integration of bodily signals and the associated feeling of bodily ownership changes with increasing age. We show that there is no difference in explicit and implicit markers of the rubber hand illusion between younger adults (aged 20-30 years) and older adults (aged > 65 years). This indicates preserved pathways for establishing a multisensory representation of the bodily self in advanced age.
Read the full paper: [link]
CONCEPT
Changes in embodiment influence cognitive aging
Aging is associated with dramatic deficits in a number of cognitive functions. Our recent review paper outlines that a high number of age-related cognitive deficits arise from problems in embodiment. We propose a novel NFL-framework of bodily aging to conceptualize these changes. Key insight: Sensory and cognitive deficits on older age link to age-related changes in embodiment.
Read the full papers: [link]
Changes in embodiment influence cognitive aging
Aging is associated with dramatic deficits in a number of cognitive functions. Our recent review paper outlines that a high number of age-related cognitive deficits arise from problems in embodiment. We propose a novel NFL-framework of bodily aging to conceptualize these changes. Key insight: Sensory and cognitive deficits on older age link to age-related changes in embodiment.
Read the full papers: [link]
