Brain Structure Best Explains Our Dwindling Tolerance of Risk

Newswise, December 19, 2016 — Our brain’s changing structure, not simply getting older and wiser, most affects our attitudes to risk, according to new research.

The University of Sydney’s Dr Agnieszka Tymula has for years been studying the factors that influence human decision-making. Until now, researchers could not say whether our tendency to make fewer risky decisions as we age was due to the wisdom of growing older, or our brain structures.

Published in Nature Communications this week, Dr Tymula and her co-authors from New York University, Yale University, University College London and Trinity College show risk aversion is better explained by changes in grey matter volume in an area in the brain’s right posterior parietal cortex, rather than by age itself.

“We know that as people age, they tend to become more averse to taking risks,” said Dr Tymula. “Yet, it seems there is something to the saying that everybody ages at a different pace. Our research suggests the speed at which our brain’s structure changes has a greater impact on our tolerance of risk than chronological age.”

In an experiment, the researchers asked more than 50 adults aged 18 to 88 to make choices between a guaranteed gain of $5 or ambiguous and risky lotteries with a payout of up to $120. Older participants preferred the guaranteed option, compared to younger participants.

Surprisingly, when researchers put these data into a model to determine what best predicted this change in preference, they found it was primarily driven by the neuronal density – the thickness and thinness of grey matter – in this brain region, rather than by age.

The results are published on December 14 in the high-impact journal, Nature Communications.

“Globally, we are experiencing an unprecedented demographic shift with people over 60 expected to outnumber children in only 30 years. Understanding how such a shift will affect decisions made in our societies on a political and economic level will be hugely important,” said Dr Tymula.

“When we choose our life partners, make a bet with a colleague, invest in a stock or vote in presidential elections, we cannot predict with certainty how these decisions will affect us and others. Understanding the brain’s structure can help us predict how our own and others’ decisions will change as our brain ages.”

The paper, Neuroanatomy Accounts for Age-Related Changes in Risk Preferences, will be available online in Nature Communications from 14 December 2016 Sydney 3am (AET) / 13 December 2016 London 4pm (GMT) at this link.

Examining How Falls Can Alter How We Approach Aging More than one in four adults 65 or older fall each year

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), it's estimated that falls account for roughly $31 billion in accrued medical costs each year. Moreover, falls become increasingly dangerous in the later stages of life

WALLINGFORD, Conn., Nov. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- With decreasing temperatures and winter approaching, Stannah Stairlifts cautions that snow and ice can possibly cause an increase in slip and fall accidents. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), it's estimated that falls account for roughly $31 billion in accrued medical costs each year. 

Moreover, falls become increasingly dangerous in the later stages of life. An icy walkway transforms from a minor nuisance into a hazardous road block and injuries caused by falls can have lasting effects that carry on throughout life.

"It is unfortunately not uncommon to see a previously active person experience a rapid decline in overall health due to complications from a fall," said Susan Wile Schwarz, director of communications, The Global Coalition on Aging.  

According to The Global Coalition on Aging, simple home alterations such as increasing the brightness of lighting, fitting your shower with grab bars or installing a stair lift, can help decrease your chance of falling. 

For example, these modifications can help an individual with an altered sense of perception due to dementia reduce the risk of falls and remain in their home longer. 

There are also some lesser known ways to lower fall risk. Many elderly people and their caregivers may not be aware of the connection between their overall health and proper skin care and nourishment. "Poor skin health can cause a decrease in sensory perception," added Schwarz. 

"With less sensation in our feet and legs, we are a greater risk of falling and injuring ourselves." 

According to Schwarz, this risk is particularly pronounced in those with diabetes and other conditions that negatively impact these nerves.

While home modifications and caring for your body can reduce your risk of falling, both The Global Coalition on Aging and Stannah Stairlifts emphasize that it is equally important to maintain a healthy mind. 

Staying both physically and mentally active will ultimately serve a critical role in preventing injuries while simultaneously cultivating a positive approach towards aging.

"A stair lift can provide independence to the elderly," said Martin Stevenson, North American business development manager, Stannah Stairlifts. 

"In addition to offering protection against falls, stair lifts also provide a positive mindset for these individuals and allow them to remain active and productive members of society as they age."

Schwarz added that caring for an elderly person is a team effort and the ability to provide high-quality care is critical to maintaining an older person's health, well-being and dignity. 

"Analyzing how we can prevent falls and provide better care for our injured loved ones highlights several important opportunities to change how society approaches aging," said Schwarz.

An increasing number of companies are beginning to see the value of applying an aging perspective to how they conduct business. With help from initiatives such as the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Ageing's: Age-Friendly Business Principles, businesses are discovering the importance of adapting proactive policies that acknowledge the increasing number of employees caring for an elderly loved one. By providing services such as flexible hours, setting different schedules, or allotting more telecommuting capabilities, these companies are finding that supporting their employees' ability to fulfill their responsibilities at home also benefits their bottom line as fewer employees are leaving full-time work or coming to work distracted.

"We need a care eco-system that ensures the later years of life are as rewarding as possible," said Schwarz. 

"It is important that we are able to remain active and independent as we age because, contrary to popular belief, these years can be some of the most dynamic and rewarding of our lives."

Stannah echoes this sentiment as it also serves as the company's core value. Stair lifts are a convenient way to re-establish independence and ensure your loved ones are navigating their homes safely and independently. 

The customer stories section on Stannah's website is evidence that a proactive and positive approach helps elderly individuals spend more time doing the things they love.

"We've found tha

t a person will be much happier aging at home instead of an assisted living facility," added Stevenson. "Stair lifts help keep people in the homes they love and avoid accidents that could disrupt their lives."

To learn more about the mission of The Global Coalition on Aging please visit www.globalcoalitiononaging.com. Additionally, discover how Stannah can help you or your elderly loved one by visiting http://www.stannah-stairlifts.com.

About Stannah Stairlifts:      
Stannah is recognized around the world as the company that brings freedom, independence and a strong sense of safety back to anyone who has difficulty overcoming the challenges posed by the stairs in their home. Indoors and outdoors, around the world there are more Stannah stairlifts in place than any other brand.

Ever since Stannah was established as a family-owned company almost 150 years ago, we have been committed to quality craftsmanship. Safety, reliability, and value are the tools of our trade, while you, our customer, are our primary focus. We want you to understand and enjoy freedom, independence and the inescapable feeling of pride that comes from being the master of your home.

About The Global Coalition on Aging:

                                                                                     
The Global Coalition on Aging aims to reshape how global leaders approach and prepare for the 21st century's profound shift in population aging. The Coalition uniquely brings together leading global corporations across industry sectors with common strategic interests in aging populations, a comprehensive and systemic understanding of aging, and an optimistic view of its impact.

Through research, public policy analysis, advocacy and communication, the Coalition advances innovative solutions and works to ensure global aging is a path for fiscally sustainable economic growth, social value creation and wealth enhancement. The Coalition operates along four pillars of health and wellness, education and work, financial security, and technology and innovation to promote basic reforms to address the 21st century's age-driven demographic realities.

Older Men Cling To 1950’S, ’60’S Blueprint Of Masculinity

Newswise, October 26, 2016 — As men age, they continue to follow dominant ideas of masculinity learned as youth, leaving them unequipped for the assaults of old age, according to a new study.

The mismatch between aging and the often ageless expectations of popular masculinity leaves senior men without a blueprint to behave or handle emotions, according to a new literature review from Case Western Reserve University.

Men who embodied prevailing cultural and societal hallmarks of manliness as younger men—projecting an aura of toughness and independence, avoiding crying and vulnerability, while courageously taking risks—are confronted by the development of health problems, loss of spouses and loved ones, retirement and needing to be a caregiver for ailing family members in later life.

“Who you are in the past is embedded in you,” said Kaitlyn Barnes Langendoerfer, a doctoral student in sociology at Case Western Reserve and co-author of the review, which mined narrative data from nearly 100 previously published studies.

 “Men have trouble dealing with older age because they’ve followed a masculinity script that left little room for them to negotiate unavoidable problems.”

“In our study, we hear men struggling with grief—which is a vulnerable state—and caregiving, which is associated with femininity,” she said.

“If they must cry, men feel it’s to be done in the home, away from others, even when spouse has died. They have to renegotiate their masculinity in order to deal with what life is bringing their way.”

This masculinity “script” still embraced by older men was outlined as the four-part Blueprint of Manhood, first published by sociologist Robert Brannon when the men in the studies were entering adulthood in the 1970’s. The blueprint included:

No Sissy Stuff - men are to avoid being feminine, show no weaknesses and hide intimate aspects of their lives.

The Big Wheel - men must gain and retain respect and power and are expected to seek success in all they do.

The Sturdy Oak – men are to be ‘‘the strong, silent type” by projecting an air of confidence and remaining calm no matter what.

Give ‘em Hell – men are to be tough, adventurous, never give up and live life on the edge.

“We’re all aging; it’s a fact of life. But as men age, they’re unable to be who they were, and that creates a dissonance that is hard to reconcile,” said Langendoerfer, who studies aging in men.

“We need to better understand how older men adapt to their stressors—high suicide rates, emotions they stifle, avoiding the doctor—to hopefully help them build better lives in older age,” she said.

The review, published in the journal Men and Masculinities, was co-written by Edward Thompson Jr., an emeritus professor of sociology and anthropology at the College of the Holy Cross and now an affiliate of the Department of Sociology at Case Western Reserve.

Most of the data came from studies with white, middle-class men from the United States, Canada and Europe who had stable careers. “More research inclusive of different races and socioeconomic backgrounds is needed to obtain a more complete picture of how older men adapt,” Langendoerfer said. 

Designing The Future Internet

 Credit: Shutterstock/monicaodo

Rutgers’ Dipankar Raychaudhuri in the forefront of creating a mobile-friendly internet that can handle billions of devices and smart gadgets

The Internet of Things includes smart objects like fitness monitors, smart watches, smartphones and home thermostats.

Newswise, October 24, 2016 — This century, our world will be flooded with hundreds of billions of smartphones, gadgets, sensors and other smart objects connected to the internet.

 They will perform myriad services, such as monitoring our health, helping run households and boosting driver safety. At Rutgers, Dipankar “Ray” Raychaudhuri is at the forefront of efforts to redesign the internet to handle the enormous increase in traffic.

“The traffic that comes from mobile devices into the internet has been increasing exponentially. It used to be 10 percent five years ago – now it’s over 50 percent,” said Raychaudhuri, a distinguished professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the School of Engineeringand director of the WINLAB (Wireless Information Network Lab).

“As a result, mobile wireless capacity is beginning to run out,” he said.

“That’s why cellular operators have to give you data limits. When you try to use a mobile phone and you’re downloading a web page, it stalls unexpectedly at times and you have to wait for the signal to improve. Also, there are all kinds of holes in the security system that need to be fixed.”

In 2010, the National Science Foundation (NSF) launched a Future Internet Architecture initiative and invited academics to take a fresh look at the internet. Raychaudhuri and colleagues proposed a“MobilityFirst” project aimed at reimagining the Internet, winning major NSF funding.

The MobilityFirst project, now in its sixth year, includes experts at Rutgers, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Duke University, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The NSF provided $3.275 million to Rutgers from 2010 to 2014 and $2.9 million since 2014, said Raychaudhuri, the project’s principal investigator.

“The internet has a lot of duct tape on it,” he said. “It works very well, but it has some limitations, especially when you try to do more mobile communications. How to re-architect the internet is a very ambitious goal.”

The MobilityFirst project is centered on shifting from the current internet protocol (IP) – an elegant, address-based routing technology designed in the 1970s – to name-based routing, he said.

An IP address is a unique number for an internet device, according to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which allocates the numbers used to route internet traffic to devices.

MobilityFirst’s name-based approach would be a fundamental change. Names would represent people, mobile phones, internet devices, small sensors or any other objects connected to the internet, said Raychaudhuri, a native of India who received his master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from the State University of New York, Stony Brook.

The benefits of MobilityFirst include more flexible services, better security, support for mobility across many technologies, efficiency and the ability to handle large volumes of traffic and data.

“We are not expecting to rip out the old internet,” Raychaudhuri said. “The internet has a lot of nice properties that we don’t want to lose.

“But one of the challenges for today’s internet is that with all these different modes of communication, some of them such as mobility services, broadcasting or content delivery are not handled very efficiently, and this could lead to flooding the network with too much data.”

The different modes of communication include the “Internet of Things” – a swiftly flowering field featuring smart objects, such as fitness monitors and smart watches, home thermostats and lighting, smartphones and devices with sensors.

Smart objects are expected to become pervasive in society, managing energy use in homes, monitoring food consumption, diagnosing health problems, monitoring cybersecurity and making driving safer, among other benefits.

Some 50 billion smart objects are anticipated by 2020, and 1 trillion sensors soon thereafter, according to the NSF.

“The Internet of Things has a lot of potential, but it needs fast and low delay networks that can ensure that data are received in time,” Raychaudhuri said.

“A lot of people are working on how to make cellular networks faster – so-called '5G' – and more functional, and many of the goals are similar to what we have in the MobilityFirst project.”

Three MobilityFirst trials are underway or planned, including one with SES, a satellite services company with a Princeton office. SES is using the MobilityFirst system to deliver content closer to its users, reducing the cost and improving user experience.

The second trial – with the University of Wisconsin-Madison – will show how an internet service provider’s circuits can be extended to offer mobile service.

The third trial, led by the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in Texas, will look into how to do targeted emergency messaging in a disaster-recovery scenario, such as following a terrorism incident or a major hurricane like Katrina in 2005.

The Internet of Things also covers virtual reality and augmented reality, with people wearing special glasses that, for example, provide directions as they walk or show the stores in a shopping center, said Raychaudhuri, who joined Rutgers in 2001 after working at a startup company called Iospan Wireless in Silicon Valley, as well as the NEC USA C&C Research Laboratory and Sarnoff/ RCA Laboratories, both in Princeton, New Jersey.

Plan Ahead For Successful Agin

Newswise, October 24, 2016— For many people, the prospect of aging is scary and uncomfortable, but Florida State University Assistant Professor Dawn Carr says that research reveals a few tips that can improve our chances of a long, healthy life.

Carr, who joined FSU’s Department of Sociology and the Pepper Institute on Aging and Social Policy this fall, is working to identify social programs and policy solutions that improve and maintain quality of life as people age.

“The ultimate goal is to set people up for having a good life for as long as possible in ways that are meaningful and productive,” she said.

As a gerontologist, Carr studies the biological, cognitive and social processes involved in aging and the ways that societies construct systems to accommodate aging populations.

 Carr’s specialization in social gerontology means she pays particular attention to the idea of “successful aging,” or the ways that people can continue to lead fulfilling, emotionally satisfying lives as they get older.

Fundamental to understanding aging from the perspective of a social gerontologist is the important distinction between “successful aging” and pop cultural or cosmetic ideas about “anti-aging.”

“Anti-aging is a movement that views youth as the best state of being,” Carr said. “It’s focused on the idea that good agers are those who look, act and seem young.”

Conversely, the idea of successful aging is based on the notion that getting older can be a healthy and positive process — that it can yield its own unique experiences and outlooks.

Proponents of successful aging ideas argue that, with adequate and deliberate preparation, late-adulthood can be a time of increased self-actualization.

Carr, who previously served as a research associate at Stanford’s Center on Longevity, has published extensively on the subject of successful aging.

“What my research has done is to try and understand the shifts in the way we live as we get older,” Carr said.

“What I’m trying to understand is what we can do to keep health and cognitive performance up for as long as possible.”

Carr shared a few basic tips for becoming a successful ager.

Get a College Degree

There is no more crucial variable in the formula of successful aging than education. Research has repeatedly demonstrated the indispensible value of meaningful educational experiences, and especially of attaining a college degree.

“Education has been the biggest predictor of aging outcomes for a very long time,” Carr said.

“You just can’t hold a candle to number of years of education and its relationship to any outcome related to aging. It’s hard for me to ever imagine that education wouldn’t be beneficial to health, well-being and aging well.”

Eat Healthy

Eating well can have significant, measurable effects on aging outcomes. It’s important to find a healthy diet that works for your individual lifestyle.

“There are a lot of diets that work well, but none of them involve eating a ton of fast food,” Carr said. “It’s important to use nutrition in a way that doesn’t result in bad outcomes like heart disease and diabetes, but that can vary from person to person.”

Exercise

There is no substitute for a consistent exercise regimen.

“Exercise is crucial over the long term,” she said. “You can start at anytime throughout your life but it’s important to continue as much as possible. There’s no evidence that you can do too much, and exercise seems to be one of the few things that, for the average person with normal brain matter, keeps cognitive performance up later in life.”

Stay Socially Connected

Quality of social connection is one of the most reliable predictors of well-being in older individuals. This is particularly vital for older men, who tend to have a more difficult time forging important relationships as they age.

“Social connectedness is the thing that people probably pay the least attention to,” Carr said.

“Maintaining meaningful engagement with others through the duration of your life is crucial, and men aren’t so good at it, which is a problem.

”For example, research shows that older men who are married tend to do better than those who aren’t, so we know there’s something important in having close connections later in life.

“The thing is, it’s hard to have someone close to you later in life if you’ve never spent any time cultivating meaningful relationships with others.”

Carr recommends joining formal community groups as a way of ensuring sustained connection as we age.

“Embedding yourself in formal organizations like church, volunteer programs or book clubs can be a great way to cultivate relationships,” she said.

Plan Financially

It’s never too early to begin making financial arrangements for later life. While structures of economic inequality often make it difficult for some to plan in the long term, the prudent choice is always to begin considering your late-life finances as soon as possible.

“Being poor in later life is not good for your health,” Carr said.

“A lot of people don’t have control over that, which is a huge deal. But one thing we know to be true is that if you have a sufficient income, that’s pretty critical in improving outcomes. You have a lot working against you if you don’t have the money to maintain your well-being over time.” 

Working and Volunteering Could Reduce Disablement in Seniors, Study Finds

Newswise, August 17, 2016—Working or volunteering can reduce the chances of chronic health conditions leading to physical disability in older Americans, according to researchers at Georgia State University and Florida State University.

The study found people ages 50 to 64 who worked full-time or part-time or volunteered up to 100 hours per year experienced a reduction in the extent to which chronic conditions were associated with subsequent functional limitations, such as the ability to walk a block or climb a flight of stairs.

The findings are published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.

Previous studies have not examined how working or volunteering affects functional limitations, said Ben Lennox Kail, lead author and assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Georgia State.

“If we can find interventions that slow down early-stage disability, we might be able to help people live healthier and ultimately longer because decreased physical functioning is associated with excess risk of mortality,” Kail said.

“What we’re arguing is that it’s important to have programs that incentivize people who are healthy enough to continue working and volunteering to do so because it can intervene in health processes.”

Maintaining high levels of physical functioning is one of the keys to successful aging.

In the United States, nearly 20 percent of men and 30 percent of women older than 65 years old experience some form of functional limitation.

Limiting disability is important to help reduce mortality in the U.S., as well as individual and public health expenditures.

“A lot of our programs are about labor force withdrawal,” Kail said. “Social Security and Medicare provide incentives to leave the labor force. For lots of people, these are great and important. At the same time, if we want people to age healthier than normal, we need incentives for them to continue working or begin volunteering.”

The researchers used Health and Retirement Survey data from 1998 to 2012. The data were collected from 13,268 people older than 50 and younger than 62, who were re-interviewed every two years.

The data include measurements of subsequent functional limitations: walking one block, climbing one flight of stairs, stooping or kneeling, lifting or carrying 10 pounds, picking a dime up off the ground and pushing or pulling a large object.

Participants indicated whether they had ever been diagnosed with any of the following chronic conditions: high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, lung disease, heart problems, stroke or arthritis.

In addition, they reported whether they were engaged in full-time or part-time work over the past year, as well as the number of hours they volunteered during the same period.

The study found working full-time and part-time or volunteering less than 100 hours per year played a significant role in lessening the link between chronic conditions and functional limitations.

Workers and volunteers had fewer current physical limitations than their non-active counterparts. On average, they also had fewer chronic conditions.

Volunteering 100 hours or more didn’t reduce the association between chronic conditions and subsequent functional limitations, but it was important in limiting functional limitations.

“Some older people are leaving the labor force and not replacing it with anything,” Kail said.

“If you’re not replacing work with a work-like activity, your retirement is radically different than how you spent most of your life and not necessarily radically better.”

Dawn Carr of Florida State was a co-author of the study.

Getting America Moving Again! How to Get This Country Moving

Multisector, collaborative effort needed to combat physical inactivity

Newswise, August 2, 2016 — Greater efforts should be made to actively monitor physical activity as a risk factor in clinical practice, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

The paper “Scaling up Physical Activity Interventions Worldwide: Stepping up to Larger and Smarter Approaches to Get People Moving,” is part of a four-paper series published in The Lancet, which shows, among other findings, that physical inactivity costs the global economy more than $67.5 billion a year in health care costs and lost productivity.

Increasing levels of physical activity will require collaboration between schools, urban planning, transport, sports and recreation and the environmental sectors, finds the paper.

“Not every intervention implemented at scale is effective in increasing population physical activity levels, and not every effective, research-led intervention is scalable,” said Rodrigo Reis, professor at the Brown School and co-author of the study.

“We found that the key factors for scaling-up physical activity interventions are drawn from lessons from both evidence-based practice and practice based-evidence,” Reis said.

“The key factors include partnerships outside the health sector, early institutionalization and long-term political support of effective interventions.”

Reis and his co-authors pointed to several successful examples, such as the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System introduced in Curitiba, Brazil; Bogota, Colombia; and Cambridge, United Kingdom, which puts stops further apart than traditional bus stops to encourage walking; and the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) in the United States, which promotes a healthy school environment including physical activity, food, nutrition and sun protection.

“The scientific community, researchers, funding agencies and journals should prioritize studies for assessing impact of real-world interventions,” Reis said.

“And governments should focus on scaling-up interventions with the highest face validity, promote multisector approaches and provide long-term tangible support.”

Research Shows How Visual Perception Slows with Age

Older adults experience deficits in inhibition, which can affect how quickly they process information visually, according to a new study involving the University of Arizona.

Newswise, July 29, 2016— Grandparents may be some of the best storytellers around, in the sense that they usually have plenty of stories to tell. What they're not always as good at, however, is staying on topic when they regale others with their tales.

Indeed, what might begin as an account about their snowy trek to school could easily go off on tangents about the time they visited the Grand Canyon or their granddaughter's recent soccer game.

Staying on topic may be more difficult for older adults than it is for younger people because older adults begin to experience a decline in what is known as inhibition -- the ability to inhibit other thoughts in order to pursue the storyline.

Evidence for inhibition deficits in older adults has appeared in studies that task participants with completing a familiar phrase with an unfamiliar word. For example, when asked to complete out loud the sentence "I take my coffee milk and ..." with the word "pajamas" instead of "sugar," older adults are more likely to first respond with "sugar" than young participants because they have a harder time inhibiting the high-probability word to complete the sentence.

Decline in inhibition also can affect visual perception, as is demonstrated by new research, involving the University of Arizona, that is adding to science's understanding of how vision changes with age.

Inhibition is an important part of neural processing throughout the brain, and it plays a significant role in visual perception. For example, evidence suggests that when we look at an object or a scene, our brain unconsciously considers alternative possibilities.

These competing alternatives inhibit one another, with the brain effectively weeding out the competition before perceiving what is there, says Mary Peterson, professor of psychology and director of the Cognitive Science Program in the UA Department of Psychology.

With regard to vision, age-related declines in the efficiency of inhibitory processes have been demonstrated in research involving simple perception tasks, such as the ability to detect symmetry and discriminate between shapes.

Peterson and her collaborators set out to see if the same deficits are evident when it comes to more complicated visual tasks. Their findings, published in the Journal of Vision, suggest that they are.

Peterson and her fellow researchers -- lead author John A.E. Anderson at York University in Toronto, M. Karl Healey at the University of Pennsylvania and Lynn Hasher at the University of Toronto -- were interested specifically in what is known as figure-ground perception, in which two areas in a person's visual field share a border.

If you imagine a white heart on a black background, for example, the heart is the "figure" -- with its definitive shape -- and the black background is the "ground," which seems to simply continue behind the figure.

In the lab, researchers showed on a screen a series of small, symmetrical white-on-black silhouettes, created by Peterson and her UA students, to two different groups: young participants with an average age of about 20 and older participants with an average age of about 66.

Participants were asked to determine whether each white "figure" depicted a familiar object, such as an apple, or a novel object -- a meaningless shape.

Of the novel-object images presented, half showed a meaningless white "figure" against a black "ground" but included a border between black and white that could suggest a meaningful object in the black portion of the image.

For example, the border of one meaningless white shape suggested the outline of two seahorses in the black area. This kind of complex image requires that substantial inhibitory competition take place in the brain before an object is perceived.

"For a long time my students and I have been investigating how we see the world. Our work has suggested that the brain first detects all the borders in a scene and then for every border, accesses object properties -- essentially different interpretations -- on both sides," Peterson said.

"These two interpretations compete by inhibiting each other, and whichever one has more evidence in favor of it is going to exert more inhibition on the other one to win the competition."

In the end, younger and older participants both came to the same conclusions about whether the white objects were familiar.

However, it took longer overall for older adults to come to that conclusion, especially when images presented more inhibitory competition.

The findings support and further evidence that older adults experience age-related deficits in inhibition related to vision.

"This is particularly interesting as it suggests that distraction is being processed extremely rapidly, and without conscious awareness, but that older adults are less able to tolerate this ambiguity than younger adults," said Anderson of York University. "

This research may have practical importance for how perception changes with age as well, particularly in situations of low visibility -- possibly fog, bad lighting, et cetera -- when the identity of shapes is harder to discern."

The researchers believe that age-related inhibitory deficits are due to reduced functioning of GABA neurotransmitters in the brain, which are thought to mediate inhibition. However, more research is needed to be certain, Peterson said.

"There is going to be more or less competition in some of the scenes you look at over the course of the day," Peterson said, "so the prediction is that when there is high competition, older adults will take longer to resolve -- to see -- the objects in that scene."

UW-Milwaukee Arts Students Collaborate with Older Residents to Create and Enjoy Art

Student Artist in Residence program involves some students living in senior residence homes

Newswise, July 22, 2016 — Mari Marks is holding creative coloring sessions at five senior centers. Ian McGibbon helped residents of Eastcastle Place design and create Halloween costumes, and took them on a trip to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Union Gallery. Jackie Kostichka taught Aztec dances to older adults at the Milwaukee Catholic Home – and four residents joined her in a performance.

Marks, McGibbon and Kostichka are part of the Student Artists in Residence program, an unusual partnership that brings students from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) together with older adults to create art. The program is a collaboration between the Peck School of the Arts and the Center for Student-Based Learning, Leadership and Research.

“I’m so happy to be doing this,” Marks said. “It really lets me share my passion and love of art with others. I’ve had some really good discussions [with the seniors] about their perspectives and interests in art. It’s also been great to learn about the communities and the senior centers.”

The most recent Student Artists in Residence project paired eight arts majors with senior residences and programs for nearly a year – from September through July. The program continues in the fall. Students earn a stipend for their efforts.

Marks, who graduated in December with a bachelor’s of fine arts in ceramics and painting, is involved with Interfaith Older Adult Programs, which serves five Milwaukee County senior centers.

Other students are connected with the Milwaukee Catholic Home, Eastcastle Place, Chai Point, St. John’s on the Lake, the Beulah Brinton Community Center, HarborChase, and Aurora Sinai’s Acute Care for the Elderly hospital unit.

“Any time we can bring youthful energy through our front door, it has a positive impact,” said Amy O’Connor, resident life director at the Milwaukee Catholic Home, where dance major Kostichka worked. “The students gain practical experience through the programming as well as build friendships and connections with older residents.”

Although most of the students come to the senior residences and centers to organize programs, Ian McGibbon, a UWM senior studying art and design, lived at Eastcastle Place during the fall semester, and he’s now living at Chai Point.

“It’s been a wonderful, interesting and amazing experience, and I’d like to do it again next year,” he said while playing cribbage with senior residents at a game night he organized.

McGibbon provided Eastcastle Place residents with experiences beyond their standard activities program, said Laura Wengler, Eastcastle’s director of community lifestyle services. “They really enjoyed their visit to the UWM Art Gallery and the Gallery Gab he organized afterward to discuss the art.”

Anne Basting is a professor of theater and facilitator at Creative Trust Milwaukee, which runs the Student Artists in Residence program, with support from Bader Philanthropies. Creative Trust offers arts programming, education and arts events that are intergenerational and collaborative.

Basting said the program is working with the senior facilities to see if similar residency arrangements can be worked out for its next iteration.

“It is social innovation ¬– through the arts ¬– in action,” she said.

Marks, who sells her own creations and also works at Splash Studio, a painting bar in Milwaukee, said she benefitted from her work with the Student Artists in Residence program.

In addition to the coloring workshops, one of her projects with Interfaith was helping organize the Lifetime Arts Competition, a juried show involving older adults in a five-county area.

“I have met with people I otherwise wouldn’t have interacted with,” Marks said, “and I have more experience planning workshops, communicating with many people, organizing events and setting deadlines.”

More States Weigh Action to Help People Save for Retirement

By Jenni Bergal

© The Pew Charitable Trusts

July 8, 2016. — Malcolm Reid and Stewart Nelson-Reid, both 58, have been together for 18 years. They’ve had a blast — traveling, skydiving and riding roller coasters around the country.

What they haven’t done is save much money for retirement. For years Malcolm Reid, a manager at AT&T, contributed only a small amount to his 401(k). His spouse, a freelance makeup artist, has no retirement fund.

“I don’t know what we were thinking,” Reid said. “We were spending money like crazy. We traveled. We bought clothes. We ran up credit card debt. Now, we’re watching every penny.”

They aren’t alone: A recent federal report found about 55 percent of households with workers between 55 and 64 have less than $25,000 in retirement savings. Malcolm Reid has saved a bit more than that — $38,000 — but far less than what he’d need to support himself during a retirement that might last decades.

For many Americans, a major barrier to saving more is that their employers don’t offer a retirement plan. Between 2010 and 2014, 42 percent of full-time, private sector workers between 18 and 64 — about 30 million people — did not have access to an employer-sponsored plan, according to a study by the Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew also funds Stateline).

To fill the gap, since 2012 at least 31 states have considered setting up state-sponsored retirement savings plans for private sector workers, according to Pew. This year, legislators in more than a dozen states introduced bills. 

Eight states have approved state-sponsored retirement programs for private-sector workers, but so far only one, in Massachusetts, is operating. The Massachusetts treasurer handles contributions and investments for the voluntary program, which is only for small nonprofits.

Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland and Oregon have approved mandatory programs in which a small percentage would be automatically deducted from an employee’s paycheck and put in an IRA in a financial institution, although the person could opt out. 

Employers would play a minimal role, providing information about the program to workers and sending payroll deductions to the state, but not offering financial advice or assistance. None of the programs require employers to match employee contributions.

Under Maryland’s program, employers that don’t enroll their employees must pay a standard $300 filing fee. But there is no penalty for failing to participate in the program.

New Jersey and Washington state have adopted a “marketplace” model, in which the states would create an online exchange and set basic standards for eligible retirement plans.

The states would rely on the existing private market to provide the plans, as well as help educate small businesses about their options and encourage them to offer one to employees. Participation would be voluntary for small businesses and employees.

In Illinois, which hopes to launch its program in June 2017, businesses with at least 25 employees that don’t offer retirement plans would be required to participate. Employees would be enrolled unless they opt out, and 3 percent of their wages would be placed in a Roth IRA, although they could change the percentage.

“Workers who lack access to retirement savings options need and deserve help. The number of families and workers who are in trouble is just terrifying,” said Democratic state Sen. Daniel Biss, who sponsored the measure, which passed in 2014 on a party-line vote, with only one Republican voting in favor.

AARP, one of the biggest boosters of state-sponsored retirement funds, says auto-enroll programs like the one in Illinois will best help retirees become more financially secure.

“Social Security is not enough. People need that private savings,” said Gerri Madrid-Davis, AARP’s state advocacy director. The average monthly Social Security retirement benefit as of January was $1,341.

Boomers in Trouble

Baby boomers, Americans between the ages of 52 and 70, are in especially dire straits. More than four in 10 will not have enough income to support themselves when they call it quits, according to a report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C.

Many companies no longer offer pensions, as they did when boomers’ parents were in the workforce. Nearly 30 percent of households age 55 and older have no money saved in a 401(k), IRA or pension.

And some boomers who did try hard to save dipped into or drained their retirement accounts to buy or repair their house or pay medical bills or college tuition; some lost jobs during the recession. 

“A tremendous number of people aren’t ready,” said Jack VanDerhei of EBRI. “It’s a serious problem.”

The AARP’s Madrid-Davis said younger Americans will benefit most from the state efforts to set up retirement savings programs because they’ll have more time to accumulate savings. 

But the programs would help boomers, too. Many are expected to work well past traditional retirement age. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2024 nearly 22 percent of those 65 and older will be in the labor force, compared to 12 percent in 1994.

“These programs are hugely important to boomers,” Madrid-Davis said. “Most of them don’t have pensions like people used to and a good number have nothing saved for retirement.”

She said AARP prefers that states create auto-enroll programs because many employees forced to put a small percentage of their savings into a retirement account won’t bother to opt out. “It’s trying to get inertia to work in people’s favor,” she said.

And the programs would save tax dollars down the road, Madrid-Davis said.

“The states know at the end of the day, if you have a large number of retirees who don’t have the financial resources, they’ll need support with health care, housing and food that generally comes from local and state government. Ultimately, the states will be the ones footing the bill.”

An Unlevel Playing Field?

The financial services industry and some groups representing small businesses, such as the National Federation of Independent Business, have opposed much of the legislation to create mandatory auto-enroll retirement savings programs.

Many of these critics say they support efforts to educate workers about saving for retirement, but they don’t think states should force employers to offer plans. Some say it will create administrative and regulatory burdens on small businesses.

John Mangan, a regional vice president for the American Council of Life Insurers, which represents financial companies that offer 401(k)s and annuities, said employers already have access to a “vibrant market” if they want to offer retirement plans. 

“They can work and will work for employers who have the time and energy to get a plan in place,” he said.

Mangan said mandatory auto-enroll programs would create an unlevel playing field, especially if they are exempt from the federal Employment Retirement Income Security Act, which sets out strict rules and standards for private-sector employers and retirement plans and provides financial protections for workers. 

That would mean plans that are part of the state-sponsored program wouldn’t be subject to the same requirements as other employer-sponsored plans.

“We’re not afraid of fair competition. We face that every day,” Mangan said. “Our concern is that states are proposing to operate a plan under different rules than we operate our plans under.”

Mangan said his group prefers the marketplace model adopted in Washington state. 

“It’s completely voluntary for employers and taps into an existing private marketplace,” he said. “It attempts to connect private providers to small employers who need a plan and might not know where to turn.”

In California, the state Chamber of Commerce is opposed to a mandatory auto-enroll bill under consideration, unless it is amended. The measure was approved by the Senate last month and is awaiting action in an Assembly committee.

Marti Fisher, a chamber lobbyist, said her group is worried that employers won’t be protected from liability.

“A small-businessperson may inadvertently make mistakes in the way they administer their responsibilities under the plan or the way they interact with employees and then they could be liable for any losses or problems that occur,” she said.

Fisher said her group also is concerned about the program’s costs. A recent analysis estimated California would need to borrow $134 million from its general fund for a startup loan. The loan would then be repaid using a trust fund supported by employee contributions.

“We think the cost to develop the infrastructure to administer this brand spanking new program is going to be fairly large,” Fisher said. Employees may wind up being “very disappointed in their returns,” she added, because the startup and administrative costs would come out of their investment funds.

Some critics of auto-enroll programs question how much employees will be able to save, if just a small percentage of their paycheck goes into an IRA. Research has shown that a 3 percent automatic contribution would have only a modest impact on their long-term savings.

But the AARP’s Madrid-Davis said any savings is better than none, and some programs allow for an automatic hike in employee contribution rates over time, which would help nest eggs grow.

“You can really build a great state program,” Madrid-Davis said. “And if you build it, they will come.”