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Forte G, Troisi G, Favieri F, Casagrande M. Inhibition changes across the lifespan: experimental evidence from the Stroop task. BMC Psychol 2024; 12:336. [PMID: 38849952 PMCID: PMC11162033 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-01844-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Individuals constantly exert inhibitory control over their thoughts and behaviors to plan actions that compete with habits and impulses. Cognitive inhibition enhances the selection of task-relevant stimuli and is closely related to neural changes that occur across the lifespan. Since few studies have focused on the entire lifespan, this study aimed to assess cognitive inhibition abilities in a sample of 425 healthy participants (age range: 7-88 years) using the Stroop task. The participants were grouped according to age into children, adolescents, young adults, adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults. A series of ANOVAs considered Group as the independent variable and Performance indices as the dependent variables. The children did not show an interference effect (Stroop effect), likely due to the lack of an automated reading process as a consequence of ongoing brain maturation. Adolescents and young adults performed significantly faster than older adults did. The results indicate that response speed reaches its peak during adolescence and young adulthood and then slightly decreases until older age. Nevertheless, when compared with the other groups, only older adults showed significant differences in the Stroop effect, suggesting that inhibitory abilities remain relatively consistent throughout adulthood but rapidly worsen in recent years due to the physiological decline in cognitive and brain functioning associated with aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Forte
- Department of Dynamic, Clinical Psychology and Health Studies, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanna Troisi
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Favieri
- Department of Dynamic, Clinical Psychology and Health Studies, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
| | - Maria Casagrande
- Department of Dynamic, Clinical Psychology and Health Studies, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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2
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Brewster BM, Pasqualini MS, Martin LE. Functional Brain Connectivity and Inhibitory Control in Older Adults: A Preliminary Study. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:763494. [PMID: 35370625 PMCID: PMC8964462 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.763494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
According to the inhibition deficit hypothesis, the ability to inhibit unwanted or irrelevant thoughts and behaviors decreases with age, which can have a significant impact on cognitive and emotional processing. However, studies examining inhibition and age have shown mixed results, with some studies finding a decrease in inhibitory control as individuals age, while others have found no relationship. The goal of this proof-of-concept study was to examine the underlying neural mechanisms that may explain why some older adults are better than others at inhibitory control by investigating the relationship between resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the salience network, a network critical for detecting and focusing attention toward relevant stimuli while ignoring irrelevant information in the environment, and a behavioral measure of inhibitory control (Stroop Task interference score) in a sample of 65 healthy older individuals (ages 65+). Results revealed no direct effect of age on Stroop performance; however, there was an indirect effect of age on Stroop performance through rsFC. These results suggest that rsFC of the salience network may be an important factor to consider when it comes to understanding individual differences in inhibitory control behavior among older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon M. Brewster
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Avila University, Kansas City, MO, United States
- Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Marcia Smith Pasqualini
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Avila University, Kansas City, MO, United States
| | - Laura E. Martin
- Department of Population Health, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States
- Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States
- Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States
- *Correspondence: Laura E. Martin,
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3
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Overview of (f)MRI Studies of Cognitive Aging for Non-Experts: Looking through the Lens of Neuroimaging. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:life12030416. [PMID: 35330167 PMCID: PMC8953678 DOI: 10.3390/life12030416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
This special issue concerning Brain Functional and Structural Connectivity and Cognition aims to expand our understanding of brain connectivity. Herein, I review related topics including the principle and concepts of functional MRI, brain activation, and functional/structural connectivity in aging for uninitiated readers. Visuospatial attention, one of the well-studied functions in aging, is discussed from the perspective of neuroimaging.
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Rabi R, Chow R, Paracha S, Hasher L, Gardner S, Anderson ND, Alain C. The Effects of Aging and Time of Day on Inhibitory Control: An Event-Related Potential Study. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:821043. [PMID: 35360220 PMCID: PMC8963784 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.821043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Time of day (TOD) influences on executive functions have been widely reported, with greater efficiency demonstrated at optimal relative to non-optimal TOD according to one’s chronotype (i.e., synchrony effect). Older adults (OAs) show declines in inhibitory control and are more sensitive to the effects of circadian variation on executive functioning. To date, no studies have investigated the effects of TOD and aging on executive functioning using electrophysiological measures. The present study investigated the effects of aging and TOD on the neural correlates of inhibitory processing (N2 and P3) using event-related potentials (ERPs). Go-NoGo and Flanker tasks were administered to 52 OAs of morning chronotype and 51 younger adults (YAs) of afternoon-to-evening chronotype who were randomly assigned to morning or afternoon test sessions, with the optimal TOD for OAs in the morning and for YAs in the afternoon/evening. While behavioral results demonstrated no TOD effects, ERPs indicated synchrony effects. Both YAs and OAs showed greater modulation of Go-NoGo N2 and greater P3 amplitude during the non-optimal than optimal TOD, consistent with the synchrony effect. For the Flanker task, age differences in P3 amplitude were only apparent during the non-optimal TOD. These results suggest that processes associated with inhibitory control are differentially affected by TOD and aging, with age-related reductions in inhibitory efficiency during off-peak test times on measures of interference control. These findings highlight the sensitivity of ERPs to detect TOD effects in the absence of behavioral differences, confirm more pronounced TOD effects in OAs relative to YAs on ERP measures of interference control, and reinforce the need to assess and control for circadian typology in research studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahel Rabi
- Baycrest Centre, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Ricky Chow
- Baycrest Centre, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Shahier Paracha
- Baycrest Centre, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Lynn Hasher
- Baycrest Centre, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sandra Gardner
- Baycrest Centre, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Biostatistics Division, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Nicole D. Anderson
- Baycrest Centre, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Claude Alain
- Baycrest Centre, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- *Correspondence: Claude Alain,
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5
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MacKinnon-Lee KA, Bahr M. Are you more impulsive with age? Examining age, marital status, and gender on cognitive ageing. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. ADULT 2022:1-13. [PMID: 35107403 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2022.2029741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding non-pathological cognitive aging processes remains a public health goal and research priority. Age-associated cognitive aging is a normal human process, however, individual differences may aid in the mitigation of cognitive aging. Assessing the role of certain protective factors (i.e., age, marital status, and gender) that influence age-related cognitive aging is imperative to slow down the progression of unwarranted cognitive aging. Participants aged over 18 (N = 123; 97 females and 26 males) recruited from Sydney, New South Wales, and Gold Coast, Queensland, completed an online neuropsychological test battery with computer-administered tasks, assessing impulsivity and working memory, which were entered as dependent variables. A 3(Age Group: 18-27 years; 28-61 years; 62+ years) x2(Marital Status: married; single) x2(Gender: male; female) Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) design was used to examine the relationship between age, marital status, and gender (entered as independent variables) on cognitive aging. Participants' total scores from psychometrically sound measures assessing depressive symptomology, personal wellbeing, resilience, and social network engagement, were entered as covariates. No significant effects were found from the independent variables included in the MANCOVA. A significant covariate effect for resilience and depressive symptomology on impulsivity was found. A multiple regression analysis was performed on the significant covariates, and revealed increased resilience and depressive symptomology to significantly predict greater impulsivity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark Bahr
- Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Robina, Australia
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6
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Veríssimo J, Verhaeghen P, Goldman N, Weinstein M, Ullman MT. Evidence that ageing yields improvements as well as declines across attention and executive functions. Nat Hum Behav 2022; 6:97-110. [PMID: 34413509 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01169-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Many but not all cognitive abilities decline during ageing. Some even improve due to lifelong experience. The critical capacities of attention and executive functions have been widely posited to decline. However, these capacities are composed of multiple components, so multifaceted ageing outcomes might be expected. Indeed, prior findings suggest that whereas certain attention/executive functions clearly decline, others do not, with hints that some might even improve. We tested ageing effects on the alerting, orienting and executive (inhibitory) networks posited by Posner and Petersen's influential theory of attention, in a cross-sectional study of a large sample (N = 702) of participants aged 58-98. Linear and nonlinear analyses revealed that whereas the efficiency of the alerting network decreased with age, orienting and executive inhibitory efficiency increased, at least until the mid-to-late 70s. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the patterns were robust. The results suggest variability in age-related changes across attention/executive functions, with some declining while others improve.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Veríssimo
- Center of Linguistics, School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal. .,Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Paul Verhaeghen
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Noreen Goldman
- Office of Population Research, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Maxine Weinstein
- Center for Population and Health, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Michael T Ullman
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
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7
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Huizeling E, Wang H, Holland C, Kessler K. Changes in theta and alpha oscillatory signatures of attentional control in older and middle age. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 54:4314-4337. [PMID: 33949008 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2020] [Revised: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent behavioural research has reported age-related changes in the costs of refocusing attention from a temporal (rapid serial visual presentation) to a spatial (visual search) task. Using magnetoencephalography, we have now compared the neural signatures of attention refocusing between three age groups (19-30, 40-49 and 60+ years) and found differences in task-related modulation and cortical localisation of alpha and theta oscillations. Efficient, faster refocusing in the youngest group compared to both middle age and older groups was reflected in parietal theta effects that were significantly reduced in the older groups. Residual parietal theta activity in older individuals was beneficial to attentional refocusing and could reflect preserved attention mechanisms. Slowed refocusing of attention, especially when a target required consolidation, in the older and middle-aged adults was accompanied by a posterior theta deficit and increased recruitment of frontal (middle-aged and older groups) and temporal (older group only) areas, demonstrating a posterior to anterior processing shift. Theta but not alpha modulation correlated with task performance, suggesting that older adults' stronger and more widely distributed alpha power modulation could reflect decreased neural precision or dedifferentiation but requires further investigation. Our results demonstrate that older adults present with different alpha and theta oscillatory signatures during attentional control, reflecting cognitive decline and, potentially, also different cognitive strategies in an attempt to compensate for decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor Huizeling
- Aston Research Centre for Healthy Ageing, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
- Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Hongfang Wang
- Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
| | - Carol Holland
- Aston Research Centre for Healthy Ageing, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
- Centre for Ageing Research, Division of Health Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Klaus Kessler
- Aston Research Centre for Healthy Ageing, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
- Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
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8
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Ward N, Hussey E, Alzahabi R, Gaspar JG, Kramer AF. Age-related effects on a novel dual-task Stroop paradigm. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0247923. [PMID: 33651855 PMCID: PMC7924780 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The Stroop task is a traditional measure of cognitive control processes, yet results remain mixed when it comes to assessing age-related differences perhaps in part due to strategies participants use to reduce inhibitory control demands required for success on the task. Thirty-three older adults and 34 younger adults completed a Baseline (traditional, single-task) version of Stroop, followed by two, novel dual-task Stroop variants: Color-Dual (maintain secondary count of prespecified font color regardless the lexical content) and Lexical-Dual (maintain secondary count of prespecified word regardless the font color). With regard to Baseline performance, we predicted an Age x Trial Type interaction in which older adults would be selectively impaired on Incongruent trials compared to younger adults, and this prediction was supported. When we added secondary task demands, we predicted a Trial Type x Dual-Task Type interaction in which performance in the Lexical-Dual condition would be worse than performance in the Color-Dual condition. This prediction was also supported, suggesting that having a secondary task that activated the irrelevant stream of information required more inhibitory control. Finally, we also predicted that Age would interact with Trial Type and Dual-Task Type, which was partially supported in response latencies and more definitively supported in error rates. Overall, our results indicate that Stroop performance is differentially influenced by additional dual-task demands that potentially minimize strategy usage, which has implications for both young and older adult Stroop performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Ward
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States of America
| | - Erika Hussey
- Center for Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Medford, MA, United States of America.,U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, Natick, MA, United States of America
| | - Reem Alzahabi
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States of America.,Center for Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Medford, MA, United States of America
| | - John G Gaspar
- National Advanced Driving Simulator, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States of America
| | - Arthur F Kramer
- Center for Cognitive & Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States of America.,Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, United States of America
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Samrani G, Persson J. Proactive interference in working memory is related to adult age and cognitive factors: cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence from the Betula study. AGING NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2020; 28:108-127. [PMID: 31951775 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2020.1713982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
In working memory (WM), successful maintenance of information is affected by interference. Older adults may be especially susceptible to the effects of interference, which may cause age-related cognitive impairments. A relative score of IC was derived from cross-sectional (n = 869) and longitudinal (n = 443) data to investigate (1) if IC is reduced in normal aging, (2) if individual differences in IC related to individual performance in other cognitive domains, and (3) if 5-year change in IC is related to change in general cognition. Older age was associated with reduced IC, but no decline in IC occurred over 5 years. Also, the ability to control interference in WM was related to performance in episodic memory, verbal fluency, and block design. We also found that IC mediates the relationship between age and cognition, suggesting that age-related cognitive decline is linked to IC. Finally, we demonstrate that change in IC was related to decline in episodic memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Samrani
- Department of Neuroscience, Care Sciences, and Society, Aging Research Center (ARC), Karolinska Institute and Stockholm University , Solna, Sweden
| | - Jonas Persson
- Department of Neuroscience, Care Sciences, and Society, Aging Research Center (ARC), Karolinska Institute and Stockholm University , Solna, Sweden.,School of Law, Psychology, and Social Work, Center for Developmental Research (CDR), Örebro University , Örebro, Sweden
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10
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Hsieh S, Yu YT, Chen EH, Yang CT, Wang CH. ERP correlates of a flanker task with varying levels of analytic-holistic cognitive style. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2019.109673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Lawrence RK, Edwards M, Goodhew SC. Changes in the spatial spread of attention with ageing. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2018; 188:188-199. [PMID: 29982037 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2018.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2018] [Revised: 06/15/2018] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial attention is a necessary cognitive process, allowing for the direction of limited capacity resources to varying locations in the visual field for improved visual processing. Thus, understanding how ageing influences these processes is vital. The current study explored the relationship between the spatial spread of attention and healthy ageing using an inhibition of return task to tap visual attention processing. This task allowed us to measure the spatial distribution of inhibition, and thus acted as a marker for attentional spread. Past research has indicated minimal age differences in inhibitory spread. However, these studies used placeholder stimuli, which may have restricted the range over which age differences could be reliably measured. To address this, in Experiment One, we measured the relationship between the spatial spread of inhibition and healthy ageing using a method which did not employ placeholders. In contrast to past research, an age difference in inhibitory spread was observed, where in comparison to younger adults, older adults exhibited a relatively restricted spread of attention. Experiment Two then confirmed these findings, by directly comparing inhibitory spread for placeholder present and placeholder absent conditions, across younger and older adults. Again, it was found that age differences in inhibitory spread emerged, but only in the placeholder absent condition. Possible reasons for the observed age differences in attention are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca K Lawrence
- Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Australia.
| | - Mark Edwards
- Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Australia
| | - Stephanie C Goodhew
- Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Australia
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12
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13
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Mishler AD, Neider MB. Improving Wayfinding for Older Users With Selective Attention Deficits. ERGONOMICS IN DESIGN 2016; 25:11-16. [PMID: 28286405 DOI: 10.1177/1064804616659992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Older adults experience difficulties with navigating their environments, and may need to rely on signs more heavily than younger adults. However, older adults also experience difficulties with focusing their visual attention, which suggests that signs need to be designed with the goal of making it as easy as possible to attend to them. This article discusses some design principles that may be especially important to compensate for declining attentional focus. These principles include distinctiveness, consistent appearance and location, standardized images, simplicity, isolation from other elements of the environment, and reassurance about the current route.
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Abstract
Dependence on touch-screen devices is becoming unavoidable as the technology grows in ubiquity in commonly used devices such as smartphones, tablets, and ATMs. Unfortunately, when designing these devices, too little attention is paid to a large and growing portion of the population: older adults. Because many older adults find touch screens to be highly appealing and useful, it is important to strengthen the focus on the older user. Toward that end, this article synthesizes the relevant research to provide design guidelines on touch screens for the elderly. The guidelines include such considerations as gestures, element sizes, complexity, and feedback.
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15
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The boundary condition for observing compensatory responses by the elderly in a flanker-task paradigm. Biol Psychol 2014; 103:69-82. [PMID: 25168289 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2014] [Revised: 08/12/2014] [Accepted: 08/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
This study aimed to establish a baseline condition to observe ERP responses for older adults in a conventional flanker-task paradigm, in which neither a reversal response rule toward a target nor a color-coded target was employed. In addition, this study aimed to examine whether the previous finding of the compensatory responses reflected on event-related potential (ERP) for older adults in performing a flanker task was due to the specific demand of the reversal response rule toward a target or simply due to the pop-out effect with a singleton target manipulation. The results of the current study showed that (1) some of the previously thought-to-be compensatory ERP responses might not really reflect compensatory responses; (2) the previous finding of age-related ERP compensatory responses was mainly due to the manipulation of the reversal response rule condition; and (3) in some scenarios of flanker-task paradigms, older adults were just as capable as younger adults in conquer with the flanker interference even though no ERP compensatory responses were found.
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16
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Chieffi S, Iavarone A, Iaccarino L, La Marra M, Messina G, De Luca V, Monda M. Age-related differences in distractor interference on line bisection. Exp Brain Res 2014; 232:3659-64. [PMID: 25092273 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-014-4056-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2014] [Accepted: 07/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Using a bisection paradigm, we investigated age-related differences in susceptibility to distractor interference. Older and younger participants were asked to bisect a horizontal line flanked by a pair of distractors, placed in either left or right hemispace. The results showed that (1) in both groups the distractors interfered with line bisection so that the localization of subjective midpoint was selectively shifted away from their position; (2) the shifting of subjective midpoint was greater in the older than in the younger group when the distractors were placed in the left hemispace. We suggest that the increase of the bisection bias in the older group depends on changes in attentional mechanisms involved in inhibiting irrelevant information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Chieffi
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy,
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17
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Cognitive interference can be mitigated by consonant music and facilitated by dissonant music. Sci Rep 2014; 3:2028. [PMID: 23778307 PMCID: PMC3685829 DOI: 10.1038/srep02028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2013] [Accepted: 06/03/2013] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Debates on the origins of consonance and dissonance in music have a long history. While some scientists argue that consonance judgments are an acquired competence based on exposure to the musical-system-specific knowledge of a particular culture, others favor a biological explanation for the observed preference for consonance. Here we provide experimental confirmation that this preference plays an adaptive role in human cognition: it reduces cognitive interference. The results of our experiment reveal that exposure to a Mozart minuet mitigates interference, whereas, conversely, when the music is modified to consist of mostly dissonant intervals the interference effect is intensified.
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Distinct aging effects for two types of inhibition in older adults: a near-infrared spectroscopy study on the Simon task and the flanker task. Neuroreport 2013; 23:819-24. [PMID: 22828408 DOI: 10.1097/wnr.0b013e3283578032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The present study examined age-related changes in inhibitory processes among older and younger adults in the flanker and Simon tasks in terms of behavioral performance and prefrontal brain activity by functional near-infrared spectroscopy. The flanker task requires a quick identification of a central target in the presence of surrounding distracters, whereas the Simon task requires an individual to respond with left and right key presses to nonspatial features of the stimulus presented in the left and right locations. The reaction times of two age groups were longer under incongruent conditions than under congruent conditions in both tasks, indicating that the flanker effect (interference suppression) and the Simon effect (response suppression) were evident. In agreement with previous studies, the magnitude of the effect for the Simon task was greater for the older adults than for the younger adults, whereas the two groups showed equivalent flanker effects. The results suggest that older adults have difficulties in response inhibition, but not in stimulus interference suppression. Enhanced activity was found in different brain regions across the two tasks among the older adults. The older adults showed more activity in the superior and middle frontal gyri of the left hemisphere than younger adults in the flanker task; they showed more activity in the bilateral superior frontal gyri in the Simon task. These results suggest that the underlying mechanisms of the inhibition processes for the two tasks are distinct: they rely on different brain regions and have differential vulnerabilities to aging.
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Störmer VS, Li SC, Heekeren HR, Lindenberger U. Normal aging delays and compromises early multifocal visual attention during object tracking. J Cogn Neurosci 2012; 25:188-202. [PMID: 23016765 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Declines in selective attention are one of the sources contributing to age-related impairments in a broad range of cognitive functions. Most previous research on mechanisms underlying older adults' selection deficits has studied the deployment of visual attention to static objects and features. Here we investigate neural correlates of age-related differences in spatial attention to multiple objects as they move. We used a multiple object tracking task, in which younger and older adults were asked to keep track of moving target objects that moved randomly in the visual field among irrelevant distractor objects. By recording the brain's electrophysiological responses during the tracking period, we were able to delineate neural processing for targets and distractors at early stages of visual processing (~100-300 msec). Older adults showed less selective attentional modulation in the early phase of the visual P1 component (100-125 msec) than younger adults, indicating that early selection is compromised in old age. However, with a 25-msec delay relative to younger adults, older adults showed distinct processing of targets (125-150 msec), that is, a delayed yet intact attentional modulation. The magnitude of this delayed attentional modulation was related to tracking performance in older adults. The amplitude of the N1 component (175-210 msec) was smaller in older adults than in younger adults, and the target amplification effect of this component was also smaller in older relative to younger adults. Overall, these results indicate that normal aging affects the efficiency and timing of early visual processing during multiple object tracking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viola S Störmer
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
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Do age-related changes contribute to the flanker effect? Clin Neurophysiol 2012; 123:960-72. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2011.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2010] [Revised: 09/06/2011] [Accepted: 09/13/2011] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Hsieh S, Fang W. Elderly adults through compensatory responses can be just as capable as young adults in inhibiting the flanker influence. Biol Psychol 2012; 90:113-26. [PMID: 22445781 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2012.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2011] [Revised: 02/13/2012] [Accepted: 03/06/2012] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Helfer KS, Chevalier J, Freyman RL. Aging, spatial cues, and single- versus dual-task performance in competing speech perception. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2010; 128:3625-3633. [PMID: 21218894 PMCID: PMC3037770 DOI: 10.1121/1.3502462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2010] [Revised: 09/22/2010] [Accepted: 09/22/2010] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Older individuals often report difficulty coping in situations with multiple conversations in which they at times need to "tune out" the background speech and at other times seek to monitor competing messages. The present study was designed to simulate this type of interaction by examining the cost of requiring listeners to perform a secondary task in conjunction with understanding a target talker in the presence of competing speech. The ability of younger and older adults to understand a target utterance was measured with and without requiring the listener to also determine how many masking voices were presented time-reversed. Also of interest was how spatial separation affected the ability to perform these two tasks. Older adults demonstrated slightly reduced overall speech recognition and obtained less spatial release from masking, as compared to younger listeners. For both younger and older listeners, spatial separation increased the costs associated with performing both tasks together. The meaningfulness of the masker had a greater detrimental effect on speech understanding for older participants than for younger participants. However, the results suggest that the problems experienced by older adults in complex listening situations are not necessarily due to a deficit in the ability to switch and/or divide attention among talkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen S Helfer
- Department of Communication Disorders, University of Massachusetts, 358 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA.
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Abstract
The Attention Network Test (ANT) assesses alerting, orienting, and executive attention. The current study was designed to achieve three main objectives. First, we determined the reliability, effects, and interactions of attention networks in a relatively large cohort of non-demented older adults (n = 184). Second, in the context of this aged cohort, we examined the effect of chronological age on attention networks. Third, the effect of blood pressure on ANT performance was evaluated. Results revealed high-reliability for the ANT as a whole, and for specific cue and flanker types. We found significant main effects for the three attention networks as well as diminished alerting but enhanced orienting effects during conflict resolution trials. Furthermore, increased chronological age and low blood pressure were both associated with significantly worse performance on the executive attention network. These findings are consistent with executive function decline in older adults and the plausible effect of reduced blood flow to the frontal lobes on individual differences in attention demanding tasks.
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Older and younger adults' strategies in approximate quantification. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2008; 129:175-89. [PMID: 18606394 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2008.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2008] [Revised: 05/19/2008] [Accepted: 05/26/2008] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In two experiments, participants were asked to provide a quick and rough estimate of the number of items in collections of 4-79 items. In Experiment 1 verbal strategy reports and performance on each item were collected, and in Experiment 2 performance and eye movements were collected, while young and older participants were tested in strategy-instructed conditions. Results showed that: (a) participants used six different estimation strategies, (b) overall, young and older participants used the same set of strategies, but varied in how often they used each strategy, (c) older adults' strategy repertoire was smaller than young adults' (i.e., inter-individual differences in strategy repertoire), (d) strategy use, participants' performance, and eye movements varied as a function of numerosities and configurations of items, (e) in both the age groups, each strategy was associated with distinctive performance measures and eye movement patterns. These findings show that different processes are available for approximate quantification in both young and older adults and that aging is associated with strategic variations.
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Pesce C, Guidetti L, Baldari C, Tessitore A, Capranica L. Effects of aging on visual attentional focusing. Gerontology 2005; 51:266-76. [PMID: 15980655 DOI: 10.1159/000085123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2004] [Accepted: 09/07/2004] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Visual attentional performance is affected by aging, but there are methodological barriers to the understanding of this phenomenon that are due, above all, to the concomitant deterioration of sensory or central factors such as visual acuity and information processing speed. OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to verify the effects of aging on visual attentional focusing by analyzing the space- and object-based components as well as the exogenous and endogenous dimensions of the attentional allocation. METHODS Focusing of visual attention was investigated in 14 youngsters, 14 younger adults and 14 older adults (age ranges 12-15, 24-38 and 60-75 years, respectively). In two discrimination reaction time (RT) experiments, attention was cued by means of spatial cues of different size followed by compound stimuli at a shorter (150 ms) and a longer (500 ms) stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA). The compound stimuli contained a predefined target letter at a local or global level. RESULTS Older adults showed generally slower RTs and higher rates of delayed responses than younger individuals and reduced discrimination speed of local objects at 150-ms SOA, particularly when attention was invalidly cued to focus at a larger spatial scale. CONCLUSIONS This pattern of results suggests that aging causes a dysfunction of the space-based and the object-based components of the attentional 'zooming in'. Such information may be of practical relevance for developing attentional training programs for older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caterina Pesce
- Rome University Institute of Motor Sciences - IUSM, Rome, Italy.
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Greenwood PM, Parasuraman R. The scaling of spatial attention in visual search and its modification in healthy aging. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2004; 66:3-22. [PMID: 15095936 PMCID: PMC1350933 DOI: 10.3758/bf03194857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
A model of visual search (Greenwood & Parasuraman, 1999) postulating that visuospatial attention is composed of two processing components--shifting and scaling of a variable-gradient attentional focus--was tested in three experiments. Whereas young participants are able to dynamically constrict or expand the focus of visuospatial attention on the basis of prior information, in healthy aging individuals visuospatial attention becomes a poorly focused beam, unable to be constricted around one array element. In the present work, we sought to examine predictions of this view in healthy young and older participants. An attentional focus constricted in response to an element-sized precue had the strongest facilitatory effect on visual search. However, this was true only when the precue correctly indicated the location of a target fixed in size. When precues incorrectly indicated target location or when target size varied, the optimal spatial scale of attention for search was larger, encompassing a number of array elements. Healthy aging altered the deployment of attentional scaling: The benefit of valid precues on search initially (in participants 65-74 years of age) was increased but later (in those 75-85 years of age) was reduced. The results also provided evidence that cue size effects are attentional, not strategic. This evidence is consistent with the proposed model of attentional scaling in visual search.
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Affiliation(s)
- P M Greenwood
- Cognitive Science Laboratory, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064, USA.
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Madden DJ, Langley LK. Age-related changes in selective attention and perceptual load during visual search. Psychol Aging 2003; 18:54-67. [PMID: 12641312 PMCID: PMC1828841 DOI: 10.1037/0882-7974.18.1.54] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Three visual search experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that age differences in selective attention vary as a function of perceptual load (E. A. Maylor & N. Lavie, 1998). Under resource-limited conditions (Experiments 1 and 2), the distraction from irrelevant display items generally decreased as display size (perceptual load) increased. This perceptual load effect was similar for younger and older adults, contrary to the findings of Maylor and Lavie. Distraction at low perceptual loads appeared to reflect both general and specific inhibitory mechanisms. Under more data-limited conditions (Experiment 3), an age-related decline in selective attention was evident, but the age difference was not attributable to capacity limitations as predicted by the perceptual load theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Madden
- Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
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Madden DJ, Whiting WL. Age-related changes in visual attention. RECENT ADVANCES IN PSYCHOLOGY AND AGING 2003. [DOI: 10.1016/s1566-3124(03)15003-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Attentional Capture, Attentional Control and Aging. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2001. [DOI: 10.1016/s0166-4115(01)80014-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
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Kotchoubey B, Haisst S, Daum I, Schugens M, Birbaumer N. Learning and self-regulation of slow cortical potentials in older adults. Exp Aging Res 2000; 26:15-35. [PMID: 10689554 DOI: 10.1080/036107300243669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
Two groups of subjects, aged 20-28 and 50-64, respectively, matched for health status and verbal abilities, learned to control their slow cortical potentials (SCP) in a feedback paradigm by producing, on command, SCP shifts in either positive or negative direction. Both groups were able to differentiate significantly between the positivity task and the negativity task, with the differentiation score being only slightly (and not significantly) lower in older than in younger subjects. In all conditions, however, significantly more negative brain responses were obtained in older than in younger subjects. This effect was larger in the positivity task versus negativity task, and larger in trials without continuous SCP feedback versus trials with feedback. Additionally four learning tasks were carried out with all subjects. The older group demonstrated substantial performance deficits in two tasks with explicit learning (verbal and visual). In contrast, implicit learning (perceptual learning and skill acquisition) was not impaired with age. The results are at odds with the idea of general age-related learning deficit and concur with the hypothesis that only explicit, but not implicit, learning processes are compromised in older subjects. The pattern of consistently more negative SCP shifts produced by elderly subjects may indicate their impaired cortical inhibition. Another interpretation, which does not exclude the inhibitory deficit hypothesis but seems to better agree with other psychophysiological data, may be that older subjects have disturbance in the system controlling arousal and effort.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Kotchoubey
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Germany.
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Gottlob LR, Madden DJ. Age similarities in the inertial properties of attention. PERCEPTION & PSYCHOPHYSICS 1999; 61:740-55. [PMID: 10370340 DOI: 10.3758/bf03205542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Adult age differences in the mode of allocation of visual attention were investigated, using a visual search task with a circular display containing one target letter and seven distractor letters. In two experiments, a total of 56 younger adults (M = 20 years) and 56 older adults (M = 66 years) searched for a target appearing with equal probability at one of two cued locations. The first cue appeared 115 msec before display onset, and the second cue appeared with display onset; distance between the two cued locations was varied. Target identification performance indicated that attention was inertial, in that reaction time for second-cued targets was related either to the area of the portion of the visual field containing possible target locations or to the mean path length of a serial self-terminating search. There were no age-related decrements in the allocation of visual attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- L R Gottlob
- Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
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