We investigate whether aging leads to global declines in discrete and continuous bimanual coordination tasks thought to rely on different control mechanisms for temporal coupling of the limbs. All conditions of continuous bimanual circle drawing were associated with age-equivalent temporal control. This was also true for discrete simultaneous tapping. Older adults’ between-hand coordination deficits were specific to discrete tapping conditions requiring asynchronous intermanual timing and were associated with self-reported executive dysfunction on the Dysexecutive (DEX) questionnaire. Also, older adults exclusively showed a relationship between the most difficult bimanual circling condition and a measure of working memory. Thus, age-related changes in bimanual coordination are specific to task conditions that place complex timing demands on left and right hand movements and are, therefore, likely to require executive control.

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Aim To assess potential barriers to clinical integration of tailored smoking cessation treatment among African American and white smokers in the USA. Methods A total of 392 smokers (203 white and 189 African American) identified within a national random digit dial survey (response rate: 40.1%; 81.2% among households with whom we were able to make contact) of 1200 African Americans and 1200 white Americans. Respondents answered several closed-ended survey items addressing beliefs regarding what influences a smoker's ability to quit, past pharmacotherapy use, and their willingness to undergo genetic assessment in order to be matched to optimal treatment, among other items. Results In this first nationally representative survey of US smokers, 77% of respondents expressed willingness to undergo genetic testing in order to be matched to optimal pharmacotherapy, yet only 18% had ever used pharmacotherapy in a previous quit attempt. Smokers who rated 'medications and counseling' as very important in quitting were significantly more likely to endorse genetic testing (odds ratio [OR]: 8.94; 95% CI: 1.86–43.06), while those rating 'having God's help' as very important were significantly less likely to express willingness to undergo testing (OR: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.02–0.71). African American smokers were more likely than white smokers to express willingness to undergo genetic testing (OR: 3.80; 95% CI: 1.09–13.22), despite lower rates of previous pharmacotherapy use. Conclusion While smokers reported high rates of willingness to undergo genetic testing to be matched to optimal treatment, these results suggest that smokers' willingness to use medications indicated by genetic test results may prove a significant barrier to realizing the promise of tailored smoking cessation treatment. The role of spirituality in smokers' willingness to use medication is an area for further study.

Social scientists have increasingly recognized the lack of diversity in survey research on American religion, resulting in a dearth of data on religion and spirituality (R/S) in understudied racial and ethnic groups. At the same time, epidemiological studies have increasingly diversified their racial and ethnic representation, but have collected few R/S measures to date. With a particular focus on American Indian and South Asian women (in addition to Blacks, Hispanic/Latinas, and white women), this study introduces a new effort among religion and epidemiology researchers, the Study on Stress, Spirituality, and Health. This multicohort study provides some of the first estimates of R/S beliefs and practices among American Indians and U.S. South Asians, and offers new insight into salient beliefs and practices of diverse racial/ethnic and religious communities.