Age-related changes in time discrimination: The involvement of inhibition, working memory and speed of processing

Towards a neurodevelopmental cognitive perspective of temporal processing

The ability to organize and memorize the unfolding of events over time is a fundamental feature of cognition, which develops concurrently with the maturation of the brain. Nonetheless, how temporal processing evolves across the lifetime as well as the links with the underlying neural substrates remains unclear. Here, we intend to retrace the main developmental stages of brain structure, function, and cognition linked to the emergence of timing abilities. This neurodevelopmental perspective aims to untangle the puzzling trajectory of temporal processing aspects across the lifetime, paving the way to novel neuropsychological assessments and cognitive rehabilitation strategies.

Differences between sub-second and supra-second durations for the assessment of timing deficits in amnestic mild cognitive impairment

Previous studies have often reported timing deficits in older adults with different degrees of cognitive decline, however, the exact nature of impairments in time perception is still to be elucidated. In particular, it is unclear if the deficits are more pronounced for short or long intervals, consistent with notions that different cognitive processes and neuroanatomical areas are involved in the processing of durations of different ranges. The present study aims to further investigate timing abilities in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients and age-matched controls. Participants were asked to decide whether an acoustic event occurred within the first or the second half of a reference duration. The results revealed a bias towards larger PSE values and reduced precision in aMCI patients compared to healthy controls. Further analyses showed that the bias towards larger PSE values correlated with memory performance, especially when sub-second durations were tested. Overall, the results demonstrate that memory deficits in aMCI patients coincide with changes in time perception in the sub-second interval range.

Musical experience enhances time discrimination: Evidence from cortical responses

Time discrimination, a critical aspect of auditory perception, is influenced by numerous factors. Previous research has suggested that musical experience can restructure the brain, thereby enhancing time discrimination. However, this phenomenon remains underexplored. In this study, we seek to elucidate the enhancing effect of musical experience on time discrimination, utilizing both behavioral and electroencephalogram methodologies. Additionally, we aim to explore, through brain connectivity analysis, the role of increased connectivity in brain regions associated with auditory perception as a potential contributory factor to time discrimination induced by musical experience. The results show that the music-experienced group demonstrated higher behavioral accuracy, shorter reaction time, and shorter P3 and mismatch response latencies as compared to the control group. Furthermore, the music-experienced group had higher connectivity in the left temporal lobe. In summary, our research underscores the positive impact of musical experience on time discrimination and suggests that enhanced connectivity in brain regions linked to auditory perception may be responsible for this enhancement.

Effect of tempo on the age-related changes in temporal expectation driven by rhythms

Temporal expectation refers to the capacity to allocate resources at a particular point in time, enabling us to enhance our behavior performance. Empirical evidence indicates that, among younger adults, temporal expectation can be driven by rhythm (i.e., regular sequences of stimuli). However, whether there are age-related changes in rhythm-based temporal expectation has not been clearly established. Furthermore, whether tempo can influence the relationship between rhythm-based temporal expectation and aging remains unexplored. To address these questions, both younger and older participants took part in a rhythm-based temporal expectation task, engaging three distinct tempos: 600 ms (fast), 1800 ms (moderate), or 3000 ms (slow). The results demonstrated that temporal expectation effects (i.e., participants exhibited significantly faster responses during the regular trials compared to the irregular trials) were observed in both the younger and older participants under the moderate tempo condition. However, in the fast and slow tempo conditions, the temporal expectation effects were solely observed in the younger participants. These findings revealed that rhythm-based temporal expectations can be preserved during aging but within a specific tempo range. When the tempo falls within the range of either being too fast or too slow, it can manifest age-related declines in temporal expectations driven by rhythms.

Relationships Between Auditory Processing and Cognitive Abilities in Adults: A Systematic Review

PURPOSE

The contributions from the central auditory and cognitive systems play a major role in communication. Understanding the relationship between auditory and cognitive abilities has implications for auditory rehabilitation for clinical patients. The purpose of this systematic review is to address the question, "In adults, what is the relationship between central auditory processing abilities and cognitive abilities?"

METHOD

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed to identify, screen, and determine eligibility for articles that addressed the research question of interest. Medical librarians and subject matter experts assisted in search strategy, keyword review, and structuring the systematic review process. To be included, articles needed to have an auditory measure (either behavioral or electrophysiologic), a cognitive measure that assessed individual ability, and the measures needed to be compared to one another.

RESULTS

Following two rounds of identification and screening, 126 articles were included for full analysis. Central auditory processing (CAP) measures were grouped into categories (behavioral: speech in noise, altered speech, temporal processing, binaural processing; electrophysiologic: mismatch negativity, P50, N200, P200, and P300). The most common CAP measures were sentence recognition in speech-shaped noise and the P300. Cognitive abilities were grouped into constructs, and the most common construct was working memory. The findings were mixed, encompassing both significant and nonsignificant relationships; therefore, the results do not conclusively establish a direct link between CAP and cognitive abilities. Nonetheless, several consistent relationships emerged across different domains. Distorted or noisy speech was related to working memory or processing speed. Auditory temporal order tasks showed significant relationships with working memory, fluid intelligence, or multidomain cognitive measures. For electrophysiology, relationships were observed between some cortical evoked potentials and working memory or executive/inhibitory processes. Significant results were consistent with the hypothesis that assessments of CAP and cognitive processing would be positively correlated.

CONCLUSIONS

Results from this systematic review summarize relationships between CAP and cognitive processing, but also underscore the complexity of these constructs, the importance of study design, and the need to select an appropriate measure. The relationship between auditory and cognitive abilities is complex but can provide informative context when creating clinical management plans. This review supports a need to develop guidelines and training for audiologists who wish to consider individual central auditory and cognitive abilities in patient care.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.24855174.

The role of depressive symptoms in the interplay between aging and temporal processing

Temporal processing, the ability to mentally represent and process the dynamical unfolding of events over time, is a fundamental feature of cognition that evolves with advancing age. Aging has indeed been associated with slower and more variable performance in timing tasks. However, the role of depressive symptoms in age-related changes in temporal processing remains to be investigated. Therefore, the present work aims to shed light on the link between temporal processing and depressive symptoms, which are frequent with advancing age. We relied on the multicentric "Blursday Project" database, providing measures of temporal processing together with questionnaires investigating psychological wellbeing. Results reveal that aging influences several timing abilities, from the reproduction of short time intervals to verbal estimations of longer temporal distances. Furthermore, the slowing down of felt passage of time regarding the last few days with age was fully mediated by the intensity of depressive symptoms. Overall, these findings suggest that depressive symptoms may play a pivotal role in age-related temporal processing changes.

Aging and time-based prospective memory in the laboratory: a meta-analysis on age-related differences and possible explanatory factors

In older adults' everyday life, time-based prospective memory (TBPM) is relevant as health-related intentions are often part of daily activities. Nonetheless, it is still unclear which task-related factors can potentially moderate the magnitude of age-related differences, such as duration of the PM target time (the time-window within which an individual must complete a given TBPM task), the frequency of the TBPM tasks, and the criterion chosen to compute PM accuracy. The present meta-analysis aimed to quantify age-related differences in laboratory TBPM tasks, and to investigate how specific task-related factors potentially moderate the magnitude of age effects. The results showed that age effects consistently emerged among the studies, with older adults showing lower TBPM performance and checking the clock less often than younger adults, especially for shorter intervals (e.g., ≤ 4 min). Furthermore, the results indicated that the duration of the PM target time interacted with the frequency of the PM task, suggesting that learning effects may attenuate the magnitude of age differences in TBPM performance. The results are discussed in terms of potential implications about the possible cognitive processes involved in TBPM and aging, as well as in terms of robustness of the TBPM laboratory paradigm in aging research.

Alpha and Low Gamma Embedded With White Noise Binaural Beats Modulating Working Memory among Malaysian Young Adult: A Preliminary fMRI Study

Introduction: Binaural beats (BB) provisions alpha and gamma have been suggested to modulate working memory (WM), while white noise (WN) acted as a control condition. Methods: The current study overlays WN on alpha and gamma tones to study its modulating role on WM performance. A block-design n-back task paradigm used to determine the effect of load on embedded BB on WM performance using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results: Six young adults (3 males and 3 females) with mean age of 23.5 ± 0.84 within the Kota Bharu vicinity participated in the study. A repeated-measures ANOVA (p<0.05) on response accuracy indicate medium effect size on condition (η2 =0.420), and large effect sizes on groups (η2 = 0.388) and load (η2 = 0.487). The potential practical difference is more evident on low- (0-back) and high-load (3-back). GWN provision marginally excels, implying its entrainment may benefit WM processing. A repeated-measures ANOVA (p<0.05) on reaction time (RT) implied a large effect size on all variables (condition: η2=0.065, groups: η2=0.227 and load: η2=0.169). It was observed that BB exposure elicits a slow processing speed which worsens RT. The neural correlates suggest activated regions in GWN and AWN are associated with attentional mechanisms and WM processes. Conclusion: Preliminary findings indicate both embedded BB has a potential to improve WM performance with the cost of slower processing speed. GWN provision modulates attentional mechanisms benefiting WM performance and AWN may enhance performance in extreme ends of WM load.

The impact of early aging on visual perception of space and time

Visual perception of space and time has been shown to rely on context dependency, an inferential process by which the average magnitude of a series of stimuli previously experienced acts as a prior during perception. This article aims to investigate the presence and evolution of this phenomenon in early aging. Two groups of participants belonging to two different age ranges (Young Adults: average age 28.8 years old; Older Adults: average age 62.8 years old) participated in the study performing a discrimination and a reproduction task, both in a spatial and temporal conditions. In particular, they were asked to evaluate lengths in the spatial domain and interval durations in the temporal one. Early aging resulted to be associated to a general decline of the perceptual acuity, which is particularly evident in the temporal condition. The context dependency phenomenon was preserved also during aging, maintaining similar levels as those exhibited by the younger group in both space and time perception. However, the older group showed a greater variability in context dependency among participants, perhaps due to different strategies used to face a higher uncertainty in the perceptual process.

Explicit and implicit timing in older adults: Dissociable associations with age and cognitive decline

This study aimed to test two common explanations for the general finding of age-related changes in the performance of timing tasks within the millisecond-to-second range intervals. The first explanation is that older adults have a real difficulty in temporal processing as compared to younger adults. The second explanation is that older adults perform poorly on timing tasks because of their reduced cognitive control functions. These explanations have been mostly contrasted in explicit timing tasks that overtly require participants to process interval durations. Fewer studies have instead focused on implicit timing tasks, where no explicit instructions to process time are provided. Moreover, the investigation of both explicit and implicit timing in older adults has been restricted so far to healthy older participants. Here, a large sample (N = 85) comprising not only healthy but also pathological older adults completed explicit (time bisection) and implicit (foreperiod) timing tasks within a single session. Participants’ age and cognitive decline, measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), were used as continuous variables to explain performance on explicit and implicit timing tasks. Results for the explicit timing task showed a flatter psychometric curve with increasing age or decreasing MMSE scores, pointing to a deficit at the level of cognitive control functions rather than of temporal processing. By contrast, for the implicit timing task, a decrease in the MMSE scores was associated with a reduced foreperiod effect, an index of implicit time processing. Overall, these findings extend previous studies on explicit and implicit timing in healthy aged samples by dissociating between age and cognitive decline (in the normal-to-pathological continuum) in older adults.