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Maldonado T, Orr JM, Goen JRM, Bernard JA. Age Differences in the Subcomponents of Executive Functioning. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2021; 75:e31-e55. [PMID: 31943092 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Across the life span, deficits in executive functioning (EF) are associated with poor behavioral control and failure to achieve goals. Though EF is often discussed as one broad construct, a prominent model of EF suggests that it is composed of three subdomains: inhibition, set shifting, and updating. These subdomains are seen in both younger (YA) and older adults (OA), with performance deficits across subdomains in OA. Therefore, our goal was to investigate whether subdomains of EF might be differentially affected by age, and how these differences may relate to broader global age differences in EF. METHODS To assess these age differences, we conducted a meta-analysis at multiple levels, including task level, subdomain level, and of global EF. Based on previous work, we hypothesized that there would be overall differences in EF in OA. RESULTS Using 1,268 effect sizes from 401 articles, we found overall differences in EF with age. Results suggested that differences in performance are not uniform, such that variability in age effects emerged at the task level, and updating was not as affected by age as other subdomains. DISCUSSION These findings advance our understanding of age differences in EF, and stand to inform early detection of EF decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ted Maldonado
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station
| | - Joseph M Orr
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station.,Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station
| | - James R M Goen
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station
| | - Jessica A Bernard
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station.,Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station
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Mack DJ, Heinzel S, Pilotto A, Stetz L, Lachenmaier S, Gugolz L, Srulijes K, Eschweiler GW, Sünkel U, Berg D, Ilg UJ. The effect of age and gender on anti-saccade performance: Results from a large cohort of healthy aging individuals. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 52:4165-4184. [PMID: 32575168 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2019] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
By 2050, the global population of people aged 65 years or older will triple. While this is accompanied with an increasing burden of age-associated diseases, it also emphasizes the need to understand the effects of healthy aging on cognitive processes. One such effect is a general slowing of processing speed, which is well documented in many domains. The execution of anti-saccades depends on a well-established brain-wide network ranging from various cortical areas and basal ganglia through the superior colliculus down to the brainstem saccade generators. To clarify the consequences of healthy aging as well as gender on the execution of reflexive and voluntary saccades, we measured a large sample of healthy, non-demented individuals (n = 731, aged 51-84 years) in the anti-saccade task. Age affected various aspects of saccade performance: The number of valid trials decreased with age. Error rate, saccadic reaction times (SRTs), and variability in saccade accuracy increased with age, whereas anti-saccade costs, accuracy, and peak velocity of anti-saccades and direction errors were not affected by age. Gender affected SRTs independent of age and saccade type with male participants having overall shorter SRTs. Our rigid and solid statistical testing using linear mixed-effect models provide evidence for a uniform slowing of processing speed independent of the actually performed eye movement. Our data do not support the assumption of a specific deterioration of frontal lobe functions with aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Mack
- Department of Cognitive Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Sebastian Heinzel
- Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany.,Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
| | - Andrea Pilotto
- Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Lena Stetz
- Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Sandra Lachenmaier
- Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Leonie Gugolz
- Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Karin Srulijes
- Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany.,Department of Geriatrics and Clinic of Geriatric Rehabilitation, Robert-Bosch-Hospital, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Gerhard W Eschweiler
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Geriatric Center, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ulrike Sünkel
- Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Daniela Berg
- Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany.,Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
| | - Uwe J Ilg
- Department of Cognitive Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Meier ME, Smeekens BA, Silvia PJ, Kwapil TR, Kane MJ. Working memory capacity and the antisaccade task: A microanalytic-macroanalytic investigation of individual differences in goal activation and maintenance. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 2018; 44:68-84. [PMID: 28639800 PMCID: PMC5741546 DOI: 10.1037/xlm0000431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The association between working memory capacity (WMC) and the antisaccade task, which requires subjects to move their eyes and attention away from a strong visual cue, supports the claim that WMC is partially an attentional construct (Kane, Bleckley, Conway, & Engle, 2001; Unsworth, Schrock, & Engle, 2004). Specifically, the WMC-antisaccade relation suggests that WMC helps maintain and execute task goals despite interference from habitual actions. Related work has recently shown that mind wandering (McVay & Kane, 2009, 2012a, 2012b) and reaction time (RT) variability (Unsworth, 2015) are also related to WMC and they partially explain WMC's prediction of cognitive abilities. Here, we tested whether mind-wandering propensity and intraindividual RT variation account for WMC's associations with 2 antisaccade-cued choice RT tasks. In addition, we asked whether any influences of WMC, mind wandering, or intraindividual RT variation on antisaccade are moderated by (a) the temporal gap between fixation and the flashing location cue, and (b) whether targets switch sides on consecutive trials. Our quasi-experimental study reexamined a published dataset (Kane et al., 2016) comprising 472 subjects who completed 6 WMC tasks, 5 attentional tasks with mind-wandering probes, 5 tasks from which we measured intraindividual RT variation, and 2 antisaccade tasks with varying fixation-cue gap durations. The WMC-antisaccade association was not accounted for by mind wandering or intraindividual RT variation. WMC's effects on antisaccade performance were greater with longer fixation-to-cue intervals, suggesting that goal activation processes-beyond the ability to control mind wandering and RT variability-are partially responsible for the WMC-antisaccade relation. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
- Matt E Meier
- Department of Psychology, Western Carolina University
| | | | - Paul J Silvia
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
| | - Thomas R Kwapil
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
| | - Michael J Kane
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
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Duprez J, Houvenaghel JF, Argaud S, Naudet F, Dondaine T, Auffret M, Robert G, Drapier D, Vérin M, Sauleau P. Enhanced Impulsive Action Selection in Middle-Aged Adults-Insights From an Oculomotor Simon Task. Front Aging Neurosci 2016; 8:251. [PMID: 27826239 PMCID: PMC5078725 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2016.00251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2016] [Accepted: 10/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Several studies have investigated the age-related impact in cognitive action control. However, to our knowledge, none of the studies have focused on the effect of moderate age on the strength of automatic activation according to the activation-suppression model. We therefore investigated the effect of moderate age on cognitive action control using an oculomotor version of the Simon task and distributional analyses. A group of middle-aged (n = 39; 57 ± 9 years) healthy adults were compared to a group of young healthy participants (n = 43; 24 ± 3 years). We first analyzed the overall impact of age on the congruence effect and then used conditional accuracy functions (CAFs) and delta plots to assess the strength of automatic activation and selective inhibition, respectively. Compared to young participants, middle-aged participants showed a greater congruence effect as well as higher rates of fast errors in conflict situations indicating an enhanced impulsive action selection. Furthermore, the overall downward slope of the congruence effect’s evolution was significantly steeper in older participants and the last slope tended to be significantly steeper. This may indicate that the middle-aged participants exerted a stronger selective inhibition. Our results suggest that middle-aged adults are more prone to impulsive action selection than young adults. Recent theories postulate that older adults might implement compensatory mechanisms to supply cognitive difficulties. This is in line with our results suggesting a potential greater selective inhibition. Overall, this study proposes that moderate aging impacts both processes of impulsive response selection and suppression underlying cognitive action control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan Duprez
- "Behavior and Basal Ganglia" Research Unit (EA 4712), University of Rennes 1 Rennes, France
| | - Jean-François Houvenaghel
- "Behavior and Basal Ganglia" Research Unit (EA 4712), University of Rennes 1Rennes, France; Neurology Department, Rennes University HospitalRennes, France
| | - Soizic Argaud
- "Behavior and Basal Ganglia" Research Unit (EA 4712), University of Rennes 1Rennes, France; Neuroscience of Emotion and Affective Dynamics Laboratory, Swiss Center for Affective SciencesGeneva, Switzerland
| | - Florian Naudet
- "Behavior and Basal Ganglia" Research Unit (EA 4712), University of Rennes 1Rennes, France; Adult Psychiatry Department, Rennes University HospitalRennes, France; Clinical Investigation Center (INSERM 0203), Department of Pharmacology, Rennes University HospitalRennes, France
| | - Thibaut Dondaine
- "Behavior and Basal Ganglia" Research Unit (EA 4712), University of Rennes 1Rennes, France; Adult Psychiatry Department, Rennes University HospitalRennes, France
| | - Manon Auffret
- "Behavior and Basal Ganglia" Research Unit (EA 4712), University of Rennes 1 Rennes, France
| | - Gabriel Robert
- "Behavior and Basal Ganglia" Research Unit (EA 4712), University of Rennes 1Rennes, France; Adult Psychiatry Department, Rennes University HospitalRennes, France
| | - Dominique Drapier
- "Behavior and Basal Ganglia" Research Unit (EA 4712), University of Rennes 1Rennes, France; Adult Psychiatry Department, Rennes University HospitalRennes, France
| | - Marc Vérin
- "Behavior and Basal Ganglia" Research Unit (EA 4712), University of Rennes 1Rennes, France; Neurology Department, Rennes University HospitalRennes, France
| | - Paul Sauleau
- "Behavior and Basal Ganglia" Research Unit (EA 4712), University of Rennes 1Rennes, France; Neurophysiology Department, Rennes University HospitalRennes, France
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Alternating between pro- and antisaccades: switch-costs manifest via decoupling the spatial relations between stimulus and response. Exp Brain Res 2015; 234:853-65. [PMID: 26661337 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-015-4510-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2015] [Accepted: 11/19/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Antisaccades are a nonstandard task requiring a response mirror-symmetrical to the location of a target. The completion of an antisaccade has been shown to delay the reaction time (RT) of a subsequent prosaccade, whereas the converse switch elicits a null RT cost (i.e., the unidirectional prosaccade switch-cost). The present study sought to determine whether the prosaccade switch-cost arises from low-level interference specific to the sensory features of a target (i.e., modality-dependent) or manifests via the high-level demands of dissociating the spatial relations between stimulus and response (i.e., modality-independent). Participants alternated between pro- and antisaccades wherein the target associated with the response alternated between visual and auditory modalities. Thus, the present design involved task-switch (i.e., switching from a pro- to antisaccade and vice versa) and modality-switch (i.e., switching from a visual to auditory target and vice versa) trials as well as their task- and modality-repetition counterparts. RTs were longer for modality-switch than modality-repetition trials. Notably, however, modality-switch trials did not nullify or lessen the unidirectional prosaccade switch-cost; that is, the magnitude of the RT cost for task-switch prosaccades was equivalent across modality-switch and modality-repetition trials. Thus, competitive interference within a sensory modality does not contribute to the unidirectional prosaccade switch-cost. Instead, the modality-independent findings evince that dissociating the spatial relations between stimulus and response instantiates a high-level and inertially persistent nonstandard task-set that impedes the planning of a subsequent prosaccade.
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The unidirectional prosaccade switch-cost: Correct and error antisaccades differentially influence the planning times for subsequent prosaccades. Vision Res 2014; 96:17-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2013.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2013] [Revised: 10/24/2013] [Accepted: 12/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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7
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Antoniades C, Ettinger U, Gaymard B, Gilchrist I, Kristjánsson A, Kennard C, John Leigh R, Noorani I, Pouget P, Smyrnis N, Tarnowski A, Zee DS, Carpenter RHS. An internationally standardised antisaccade protocol. Vision Res 2013; 84:1-5. [PMID: 23474300 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2013.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2012] [Revised: 02/08/2013] [Accepted: 02/09/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Detailed measurements of saccadic latency--the time taken to make an eye movement to a suddenly-presented visual target--have proved a valuable source of detailed and quantitative information in a wide range of neurological conditions, as well as shedding light on the mechanisms of decision, currently of intense interest to cognitive neuroscientists. However, there is no doubt that more complex oculomotor tasks, and in particular the antisaccade task in which a participant must make a saccade in the opposite direction to the target, are potentially more sensitive indicators of neurological dysfunction, particularly in neurodegenerative conditions. But two obstacles currently hinder their widespread adoption for this purpose. First, that much of the potential information from antisaccade experiments, notably about latency distribution and amplitude, is typically thrown away. Second, that there is no standardised protocol for carrying out antisaccade experiments, so that results from one laboratory cannot easily be compared with those from another. This paper, the outcome of a recent international meeting of oculomotor scientists and clinicians with an unusually wide experience of such measurements, sets out a proposed protocol for clinical antisaccade trials: its adoption will greatly enhance the clinical and scientific benefits of making these kinds of measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chrystalina Antoniades
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EG, UK
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Weiler J, Heath M. The prior-antisaccade effect influences the planning and online control of prosaccades. Exp Brain Res 2011; 216:545-52. [PMID: 22120158 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-011-2958-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2011] [Accepted: 11/14/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The latency of a prosaccade is increased when completed following an antisaccade (the prior-antisaccade effect). This finding has been attributed to the inhibition of the oculomotor networks necessary for an antisaccade engendering a persistent response set that delays a to-be-executed prosaccade. The goal of the present investigation was to determine whether the prior-antisaccade effect influences not only the planning but also the control of an unfolding prosaccade trajectory. To accomplish that objective, we employed a task-switching paradigm wherein participants alternated between pro- and antisaccades on every second trial (i.e., AABB paradigm). Importantly, trajectory control was evaluated by computing the proportion of variance (R2 values) explained by the spatial position of the eye at decile increments of movement time relative to the response's ultimate movement endpoint: small R2 values indicate a response that unfolds with error-reducing trajectory amendments (i.e., online control), whereas larger R2 values reflect a response that unfolds with few-if any-online corrections. As expected, results showed a prior-antisaccade effect for response planning; that is, prosaccade latencies were increased when completed after an antisaccade. Moreover, prosaccades completed after an antisaccade elicited larger R2 values and less accurate endpoints than trials wherein a prosaccade was completed after another prosaccade. These results provide first evidence of a prior-antisaccade effect for trajectory control and indicate that the persistent and inhibitory response set arising from an antisaccade diminishes the online corrections, and thus endpoint accuracy, of a subsequent prosaccade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Weiler
- School of Kinesiology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 3K7, Canada
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