CENTRAL DETERMINANTS/AGE-RELATED DECLINES/MOTOR FUNCTION

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We request support for a conference sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences that will be held on October 1, 2, 3, 1986. The conference is titled Central Determinants of Age-Related Declines in Motor Function. It is felt by the organizers that such a conference is necessary to provide a means of coordinating and synthesizing information from a rapidly developing area of investigation that involves many disciplines of neuroscience (e.g. psychobiology, neurochemistry). This conference will bring together the leading authorities from these areas for constructive discussion which might focus more attention on critical issues currently emerging from research directed toward elucidating the central mechanisms of motor control and examining how these mechanisms change with age. Other conferences that have concentrated on central neuronal changes in senescence have previously addressed the problem of cognitive dysfunction and have not directly considered the problems associated with motor decrements in the aged organism. This decline in motor performance is well known; it occurs in jobs where there are demands for continuous bodily movement and activity or requirements for good balance and coordination. Decrements in these latter two abilities probably account for the significant increases in falls which occur among the elderly. The following themes are proposed for the conference: 1. delineation of the changes in motor function with age; 2. discussions of the validity of various paradigms and designs used to assess motor function; 3. linkage of behavioral and CNS mechanisms; 4. putative interventions.