Sensorimotor Impairment in the Elderly

ThisvolumerepresentstheproceedingsofaNATOAdvancedResearchWorkShop(ARW) on the topic of "Sensorimotor Impairment in the Elderly" held at the Residenz Hotel, Bad Windsheim, Germany, September 11-13, 1992. The Residenz Hotel provided a pleasarit setting for the ARW in a historic environment. ' The motivation of this ARW was to provide some coherence to the widely scattered literature on motorimpairmentsin the elderly by bringing together, for atwo day workshop, many of the prominent individuals who are doing much of the contemporary research on sensorimotor aging. Our hope was to advance knowledge by having tutorial lectures and provocative discussions. As directors, we wanted the ARW to appraise the main theoretical ideas that currently characterize sensorimotor research on older adults. Our hope is that this volume will provide a review of some of the diverse literature on sensorimotor integration problems in the elderly. What was abundantly clear [TOm the presentations and discussions was how much more remains to be discovered about how motor and sensory systems change with age. The stimulus provided by this volume should be an invaluable reference in the years to come. Thevolume isorganized around five topicthemes: SensorimotorIntegration, AgeChanges in Muscle, Posture and Locomotion, Neurological Diseases, and Effects ofTraining. While they are not comprehensive, the topic themes reflect the structure of the ARW. The chapters within each topic discuss many ofthe currently debated questions on sensorimotormechanisms and how they are altered by age.