This is a past event.

Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors Forum

Kevin M. Trewartha

Assistant Professor, Cognitive and Learning Sciences
Assistant Professor, Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology
Michigan Tech

Normal healthy aging is associated with declines in various cognitive processes including memory, attention and cognitive control. Those cognitive impairments in aging cause significant functional declines in the performance of many daily tasks. Current theories of cognitive aging propose that sensory, sensorimotor, and cognitive processes become more interdependent as we get older. However, research is only starting to reveal the ways in which cognitive declines in aging impact the control of actions. My research program takes a multidisciplinary approach to investigating the dynamic relationships between cognitive and motor processes involved in complex tasks, and explaining the changes in those relationships in later adulthood. The goal of this approach is to understand how cognitive changes in older adulthood influence motor performance, as well as how motor declines influence cognitive abilities. In this talk I present an overview of my approaches to studying cognitive/motor interactions in aging. I then describe in detail a recent experiment in which I used mathematical modeling to tease apart the role of different memory processes in motor learning impairments in later adulthood. Finally, I provide an overview of the current and future directions of my research program.

ACSHF Forum is hosted by the Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences.