title: The relevance of aging-related changes in brain function to rehabilitation in aging-related disease.
abstract: The effects of aging on rehabilitation of aging-related diseases are rarely a design consideration in rehabilitation research. In this brief review we present strong coincidental evidence from these two fields suggesting that deficits in aging-related disease or injury are compounded by the interaction between aging-related brain changes and disease-related brain changes. Specifically, we hypothesize that some aphasia, motor, and neglect treatments using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) or transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in stroke patients may address the aging side of this interaction. The importance of testing this hypothesis and addressing the larger aging by aging-related disease interaction is discussed. Underlying mechanisms in aging that most likely are relevant to rehabilitation of aging-related diseases also are covered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Center of Excellence for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation (151R), Atlanta VA Medical Center Decatur, GA, USA ; Department of Neurology, Emory University Atlanta, GA, USA ; Department of Psychology, Georgia State University Atlanta, GA, USA ; School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Crosson
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Center of Excellence for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation (151R), Atlanta VA Medical Center Decatur, GA, USA ; Department of Neurology, Emory University Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Keith M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: McGregor
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Center of Excellence for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation (151R), Atlanta VA Medical Center Decatur, GA, USA ; Department of Neurology, Emory University Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Joe R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Nocera
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Center of Excellence for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation (151R), Atlanta VA Medical Center Decatur, GA, USA ; Department of Neurology, Emory University Atlanta, GA, USA ; Department of Psychology, Emory University Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Drucker
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Center of Excellence for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation (151R), Atlanta VA Medical Center Decatur, GA, USA ; Department of Psychology, Georgia State University Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Stella M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Center of Excellence for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation (151R), Atlanta VA Medical Center Decatur, GA, USA ; Department of Physical Therapy and School of Nursing and Health Professionals, Georgia State University Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Butler
keywords: aging; aphasia; hemiplegia; neuroimaging; rehabilitation; stroke; transcranial direct current stimulation; transcranial magnetic stimulation repetitive