Effect of aging on respiratory sensations produced by elastic loads

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Abstract
Effects of graded elastic loads on respiratory sensations in 19 healthy human subjects > 60 yr of age were compared to those in 21 healthy subjects < 30 yr old. The magnitude of the respiratory sensation was quantitated by 2 well-established psychophysical techniques. In the magnitude estimation method, subjects indicated the intensity of the sensation experienced with numbers; in the cross modality method the level of sensation was signaled with a dynamometer activated by thumb pressure. Effects of nonrespiratory stimuli were also compared in the 2 groups. With both methods, the logarithm of the response to elastic loads was linearly related to the logarithms of the stimulus. The slope of the line relating the log of the response to the log of the stimulus (.beta.) was significantly greater in the younger group than in the older group using the magnitude estimation method but not with the cross modality matching test. There were no differences in the ability of the 2 groups to assign numbers to line length. The older group had a lower .beta. for magnitude estimation of thumb force than the younger. Apparently, respiratory sensation follows Stevens'' law and grows exponentially with the stimulus; the growth of sensations produced by elastic loading is less in older than in younger individuals; and differences in the perception of the mode used for matching in the cross modality test may obscure significant differences in the sensations elicited by respiratory stimuli.

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