EFFECT OF AGING ON CROSS-MODAL SENSORY PROCESSING

该子项目是利用NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的许多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为中心，不一定是研究者所在机构。医学的进步使我们能够不断延长预期寿命。在过去40年中，妇女的预期寿命从70岁增加到近80岁，男子的预期寿命从65岁增加到70岁以上。因此，人口不断老龄化，虽然我们已经增加了预期寿命，使个人可以预期寿命超过70岁，生活质量是一个重要的因素，往往没有考虑。随着人类年龄的增长，他们会遇到与过度使用和废弃器官系统相关的问题。事实上，已经证明，所有的感觉系统都表现出随着年龄的增长而减弱的功能。最近的研究还表明，来自多个感觉模态的信息的整合（跨模态处理）受到正常老化的影响。有趣的是，许多与衰老相关的可能影响生活质量的残疾，如增加的福尔斯，沟通障碍和记忆障碍，可能与跨通道处理的改变有关。然而，还没有专门的研究致力于评估与年龄相关的大脑区域整合感官信息的变化。本文提出的研究将通过使用功能性脑成像和行为测试来研究年轻人和老年人的单峰和跨模态过程，从而填补这一知识空白。

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.