Biomedical subjects

K E Cherry

Publications and source records attributed to K E Cherry.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1990

Effects of distinctive context on memory for objects and their locations in young and elderly adults.

Sharps and Gollin (1987, 1988) reported that older adults' memory for both objects and their spatial location is more facilitated than that of young adults when items are studied in a distinctive visual context. They also reported that age differences in spatial memory and item memory can be ameliorated if the items are studied in a distinctive context. The goal of this study was to verify and extend these findings by examining memory for everyday objects when the objects were studied on a (a) plain surface, (b) black-and-white schematic map, or (c) colored model. In Experiment 1, item memory was examined, and in Experiment 2, spatial memory was studied. The results indicated that spatial memory improved with the addition of distinctive context but item memory did not. Moreover, there was no evidence that elderly adults were more facilitated by the distinctive context than were the young.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1989

Age-related differences in three-dimensional spatial memory.

This study focused on understanding age differences in spatial memory within a framework relating stimulus qualities to performance. It was hypothesized that elderly adults' spatial memory would be more disadvantaged, relative to young adults, with abstract, meaningless objects than with everyday objects. The study examined differences in memory for the horizontal, vertical, and depth dimensional planes of space in a 4 x 4 x 4 plexiglass cube. College students and community-dwelling adults studied and later reconstructed a three-dimensional arrangement of common or abstract objects located in a compartmentalized cube so that relocation errors could be independently measured within the horizontal, vertical, and depth dimensions. The principal findings were that (a) the magnitude of object displacement in the relocation task was greater for older adults; (b) young and elderly adults differed primarily in terms of large rather than small displacement errors; (c) the locations of meaningless items were more difficult to remember for both age groups; and (d) displacement errors in the vertical dimension were greater than the horizontal and depth dimensions, although this effect was only significant with meaningful items.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Drug sensitivity in older adults: the role of physiologic and pharmacokinetic factors.

Age-related changes in physiology and pharmacokinetics (how drugs are used in the body) lead to increased drug sensitivity and potentially harmful drug effects. This report addresses the heightened sensitivity to drug effects seen in older adults. The first section of the report presents three examples of physiologic decline: a) decreased plasma protein binding affects drug distribution, b) declining liver function affects drug metabolism, and c) impaired kidney function delays drug elimination. The next section illustrates by example the risks associated with altered physiology: a) decline in plasma protein binding may result in an intensified effect of the drug Phenytoin, b) altered liver function increases the sedative effects of Diazepam, and c) declining kidney function results in accumulation of the drug Gentamicin, where toxic effects include kidney failure and deafness. The last section is a discussion of some broad considerations for geriatric pharmacology. Adverse drug reactions can largely be avoided by carefully weighing the needs and clinical status of older persons on an individual basis both prior to and throughout the course of a given drug therapy.

Aged↗