Master i psykologi Olena Vasylenko disputerer for ph.d.-graden i helsevitenskap og vil offentlig forsvare avhandlingen:
Manual dexterity in young and healthy older adults and its association with cognitive abilities.
Populærvitenskapelig sammendrag:
The topic of this thesis is how hand dexterity is affected by aging and cognitive decline. Proper hand dexterity is essential for our daily activities, but it usually declines with aging, restricting older adults’ ability to function independently. Therefore, it is important to determine the exact nature of decline and what factors contribute to it. We used a novel method that consists of video recording and detailed analysis of hand movements. Results showed most decline in complex movements involved in object manipulation but less decline in fast, reaching movements. Successful performance depended on cognitive function in older adults but not in young. This implies that object manipulation is relatively automatic in young age but requires more effortful processes in older age. Findings are relevant for assessment of hand dexterity in research and clinical contexts, and for interventions aimed at prevention of functional decline in the older population.
Veiledere
Hovedveileder førsteamanuensis Claudia Rodriguez-Aranda
Biveileder professor Knut Kuvås Waaterlo
Bedømmelseskomiteen
Professor Claudia Voelcker-Rehage, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Institute of Human Movement Science and Health Sports Psychology, Chemnitz, Germany - 1. opponent
Assistant professor Yoshihiro Itaguchi, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Informatics, Shizuoka University, Japan - 2. opponent
Førsteamaunensis Svein Bergvik, Institutt for psykologi, Det helsevitenskapelige fakultet, Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet – leder av komité
Disputasleder Instituttleder Ingunn Skre, Institutt for psykologi, Det helsevitenskapelige fakultet, Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet
Prøveforelesning over oppgitt emne holdes kl. 10.15, samme sted: “Methodological approaches for the use of kinematic measures in the study of human motor Control”