EFFECT OF AGING ON CROSS-MODAL SENSORY PROCESSING

这个子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供的资源的许多研究子项目之一。子项目和调查员(PI)可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可能会出现在其他CRISE条目中。列出的机构是针对中心的，而不一定是针对调查员的机构。医学的进步使我们能够不断地延长预期寿命。在短短40多年的时间里，女性的预期寿命从70岁上升到近80岁，男性的预期寿命从65岁上升到70岁以上。因此，人口不断老龄化，尽管我们已经延长了预期寿命，使个人的预期寿命可以超过70岁，但生活质量是一个经常被忽视的重要因素。随着人类年龄的增长，他们会经历与过度使用和不使用器官系统相关的问题。事实上，已有研究表明，随着年龄的增长，所有感觉系统的功能都会减弱。最近的研究还表明，来自多个感觉模式(跨模式处理)的信息整合受到正常衰老的影响。有趣的是，许多与衰老相关的可能影响生活质量的残疾，如跌倒增加、沟通障碍和记忆障碍，可能与跨模式加工的改变有关。然而，还没有专门的研究致力于评估整合感觉信息的大脑区域与年龄相关的变化。这里提出的研究将通过使用脑功能成像和行为测试来研究年轻人和老年人的单峰和跨峰过程来填补这一知识空白。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Advances in medical science have enabled us to continually increase life expectancy. In just over the past 40 years, the life expectancy of a woman has risen from 70 to nearly 80 years, and the life expectancy of a man has risen farom 65 to over 70 years. Thus, the population is continually aging, and although we have increased the expected life span such that individuals can expect to live more than 70 years, quality of life is an important factor that is often not considered. As humans age, they experience problems associated with both excessive use and disuse of organ systems. In fact, it has been shown that all sensory systems exhibit diminished function with age. Recent studies have also suggested that the integration of information from multiple sensory modalities (cross-modal processing) is affected by normal aging. Interestingly, many of the disabilities associated with aging that may impact the quality of life, such as increased falls, communication disturbances, and memory impairment, may be associated with an alteration of cross-modal processing. Yet, no specific study has been dedicated to evaluating age-related changes in brain regions that integrate sensory information. The studies proposed here will fill this knowledge gap by studying both unimodal and cross-modal processes in young and elderly adults using functional brain imaging and behavioral testing.