La conduite automobile continue d'être le mode de transport dominant dans le monde et le nombre de véhicules sur la route ne devrait qu’augmenter au cours des prochaines décennies. Dans un même temps, l'évolution démographique qui se produit actuellement dans le monde industrialisé implique que la proportion de conducteurs âgés sur la route devrait augmenter considérablement. L'âge s'accompagne de changements de grande envergure dans les systèmes physiques, sensoriels et cognitifs, entraînant des changements fonctionnels qui peuvent être subtils ou profonds. Nous commençons seulement à comprendre comment la variabilité normale et pathologique de ces mesures fonctionnelles affecte les performances de conduite et la sécurité. Le développement d'un outil fiable et fondé sur des données probantes pour distinguer les conducteurs prudents des conducteurs dangereux continue d'être une préoccupation majeure pour les chercheurs en gérontologie, en accidentologie et en clinique. L'accumulation de preuves suggère maintenant qu'il existe un lien important entre des capacités cognitives spécifiques telles que la vitesse de traitement de l’information et l'attention, et les performances de conduite. Continuer à explorer cette relation pour peut-être un jour développer un tel outil est une entreprise importante. Une autre implication de la relation entre les capacités cognitives et les performances de conduite est que les interventions conçues pour les améliorer ou les maintenir pourraient éventuellement améliorer ou maintenir la sécurité et le confort de conduite des individus à court et à long terme. L'objectif de cette thèse est triple. Premièrement, il développe et valide une nouvelle méthodologie pour évaluer les performances de conduite des jeunes adultes et des adultes plus âgés à l'aide de scénarios de simulation de conduite personnalisés. Deuxièmement, elle pousse l'état de nos connaissances sur la façon dont les capacités cognitives sont liées à la performance de conduite en démontrant que la performance sur un test intégratif d'attention dynamique et de vitesse de traitement - c'est-à-dire le suivi d'objets multiples en 3D (3D-MOT) - prédit les performances des conducteurs de différents groupes d'âge. Enfin, elle offre des preuves suggérant que la formation 3D-MOT améliore réellement la fonction attentionnelle et la vitesse de traitement en transférant la performance sur un test indépendant de ces capacités et, finalement, que cette amélioration pourrait se traduire par une amélioration des performances de conduite. / Driving continues to be the world’s dominant form of transportation and the number of vehicles on the road is only projected to increase in the coming decades. At the same time, the demographic shift currently occurring in the industrialized world implies that the proportion of older adult drivers on the road is set to increase substantially. With age comes wide-ranging changes in physical, sensory and cognitive systems resulting in functional changes that can be subtle or profound. We are only beginning to understand how both normal and pathological variability in these functional measures affect driving performance and safety. Developing a reliable, evidence-based tool to distinguish safe from unsafe drivers continues to be a major preoccupation for gerontology, accidentology, and clinical researchers alike. Accumulating evidence now suggests that there is an important link between specific cognitive abilities such as speed-of-processing, attention, and driving performance. Continuing to explore this relationship in order to perhaps one day develop such a tool is an important endeavour. Another implication of the relationship between cognitive abilities and driving performance is that interventions designed to improve or sustain these might conceivably enhance or maintain individuals’ driving safety and comfort in the short- and long-term. The purpose of this thesis is threefold. First, it develops and validates a novel methodology for assessing both young adult and older adult driving performance using custom driving simulator scenarios. Second, it pushes the state of our knowledge of how cognitive abilities relate to driving performance by demonstrating that performance on an integrative test of dynamic attention and speed-of-processing—i.e., 3-dimensional multiple object tracking (3D-MOT)— predicts how drivers of different age groups perform. Finally, it offers evidence to suggest that training 3D-MOT actually enhances attentional function and speed-of-processing by transferring to performance on an unrelated test of these abilities and, ultimately, that this improvement might translate to improved driving performance.

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Existing neurocomputational and empirical data link deficient neuromodulation of the fronto-parietal and hippocampal-striatal circuitries with aging-related increase in processing noise and declines in various cognitive functions. Specifically, the theory of aging neuronal gain control postulates that aging-related suboptimal neuromodulation may attenuate neuronal gain control, which yields computational consequences on reducing the signal-to-noise-ratio of synaptic signal transmission and hampering information processing within and between cortical networks. Intervention methods such as cognitive training and non-invasive brain stimulation, e.g., transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), have been considered as means to buffer cognitive functions or delay cognitive decline in old age. However, to date the reported effect sizes of immediate training gains and maintenance effects of a variety of cognitive trainings are small to moderate at best; moreover, training-related transfer effects to non-trained but closely related (i.e., near-transfer) or other (i.e., far-transfer) cognitive functions are inconsistent or lacking. Similarly, although applying different tDCS protocols to reduce aging-related cognitive impairments by inducing temporary changes in cortical excitability seem somewhat promising, evidence of effects on short- and long-term plasticity is still equivocal. In this article, we will review and critically discuss existing findings of cognitive training- and stimulation-related behavioral and neural plasticity effects in the context of cognitive aging, focusing specifically on working memory and episodic memory functions, which are subserved by the fronto-parietal and hippocampal-striatal networks, respectively. Furthermore, in line with the theory of aging neuronal gain control we will highlight that developing age-specific brain stimulation protocols and the concurrent applications of tDCS during cognitive training may potentially facilitate short- and long-term cognitive and brain plasticity in old age.

Existing neurocomputational and empirical data link deficient neuromodulation of the fronto-parietal and hippocampal-striatal circuitries with aging-related increase in processing noise and declines in various cognitive functions. Specifically, the theory of aging neuronal gain control postulates that aging-related suboptimal neuromodulation may attenuate neuronal gain control, which yields computational consequences on reducing the signal-to-noise-ratio of synaptic signal transmission and hampering information processing within and between cortical networks. Intervention methods such as cognitive training and non-invasive brain stimulation, e.g., transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), have been considered as means to buffer cognitive functions or delay cognitive decline in old age. However, to date the reported effect sizes of immediate training gains and maintenance effects of a variety of cognitive trainings are small to moderate at best; moreover, training-related transfer effects to non-trained but closely related (i.e., near-transfer) or other (i.e., far-transfer) cognitive functions are inconsistent or lacking. Similarly, although applying different tDCS protocols to reduce aging-related cognitive impairments by inducing temporary changes in cortical excitability seem somewhat promising, evidence of effects on short- and long-term plasticity is still equivocal. In this article, we will review and critically discuss existing findings of cognitive training- and stimulation-related behavioral and neural plasticity effects in the context of cognitive aging, focusing specifically on working memory and episodic memory functions, which are subserved by the fronto-parietal and hippocampal-striatal networks, respectively. Furthermore, in line with the theory of aging neuronal gain control we will highlight that developing age-specific brain stimulation protocols and the concurrent applications of tDCS during cognitive training may potentially facilitate short- and long-term cognitive and brain plasticity in old age.

Traditionellt utvärderas effekter av kognitiv träning med objektiva prestationsmått. Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka självskattad exekutiv funktion som ett alternativt mått för att utvärdera effekter av kognitiv träning. Som utfallsmått valdes The behavior rating inventory of executive functioning - self report (BRIEF-SR). Vidare användes blandad design med för- och eftermätning samt tre oberoende grupper. Gymnasieelever (n = 63) delades in i; aktiv träningsgrupp, aktiv placebogrupp och passiv kontrollgrupp. Tränings- och placebogruppen genomförde datoriserad kognitiv träning med respektive utan adaptiv svårighetsgrad. ANCOVA med arbetsminneskapacitet som kovariat visade inga signifikanta träningseffekter på självskattade exekutiva funktioner, oavsett grupptillhörighet. Sammantaget kan BRIEF-SR vara ett lämpligt instrument vid utvärdering av kognitiv träning när ekologisk validitet prioriteras. Resultaten diskuteras avseende inverkan av tid mellan för- och eftermätning, population och förväntanseffekter. / Performance based measures have been the Golden standard when evaluating effects of cognitive training. By using The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning-Self Report (BRIEF-SR), this thesis aimed to explore self- rating scales as an alternative when evaluating effects of cognitive training. A sample of high school students (n = 63) and a mixed- effect model with pre- and post-measurements were chosen. The students were divided into three groups: active training, training with placebo or passive control. The two groups in training practiced with a computerized cognitive training program. The two training groups practiced with an adaptive and non-adaptive computer program, respectively.  With working memory as covariate ANCOVA reported no significant effects on self-rated executive functions independent of group condition. In sum, if ecological validity is of priority BRIEF-SR can be considered when measuring effects following cognitive training. In addition the results are discussed with regards to time between pre- and post-measurements, population and effects of expectancy. / Effekter av kognitiv träning på skolprestationer och självreglering av beteende (dnr 1,2009/0 018,5-0)

The main goal of the thesis entitled "The selected methods of social work with clients self-non sufficient in health care facilities" was to describe and to analyze methods used in activation of the elderly suffering from dementia. It draws a comparison of different settings and explores workers's attitude to the methods of activation. The text of the thesis was mapped out into five chapters. The first chapter was set into the context of old age and ageing. The second chapter is concerned with the issues of self-sufficiency and dependency of old age and other related issues. The topic of the third chapter is old age in relation with memory. It defines memory and memory disorders in the elderly suffering from dementia. The fourth chapter is crucial and gives an idea of non-pharmacological and other possible activities which are eligible for application in practice and are intended to reduce cognitive disorders of cognitive functions and behavior disorders. The theoretical part enters into research carried out in four facilities which care for clients with dementia. The research section is represented by a qualitative research where methods of a half structured interview and observation were opted for. The interviews were realized with eight practicing experts. The outcomes gathered from the...