The effect of context on mind-wandering in younger and older adults

2022 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
pp. 103256
Author(s):  
Nathaniel T. Diede ◽  
Máté Gyurkovics ◽  
Jessica Nicosia ◽  
Alex Diede ◽  
Julie M. Bugg
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Mind Wandering

scholarly journals Mind-wandering and falls risk in older adults.

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 685-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay S. Nagamatsu ◽  
Julia W. Y. Kam ◽  
Teresa Liu-Ambrose ◽  
Alison Chan ◽  
Todd C. Handy
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Falls Risk

scholarly journals Self-Referential Memory Encoding and Mind- Wandering in Younger and Older Adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah R. Lipitz ◽  
Xiaodong Liu ◽  
Angela Gutchess
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Albert Einstein ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Memory Encoding ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Single Mechanism ◽  
Encoding Strategy

AbstractSelf-referencing, the relating of information to oneself, is a successful encoding strategy that improves memory across the lifespan. Mind-wandering, the shifting of thoughts from a task to selffocused information, is characterised by decreased cognitive performance and is reported by older adults less frequently than by younger adults. In the present study, we investigated a hypothetical relationship between mind-wandering and self-referential memory and whether this relationship decouples in healthy aging. Younger and older adults rated adjectives on how descriptive they were of themselves, Albert Einstein or assessed the commonness of the adjective. Participants were interrupted during the encoding task with randomly timed mind-wandering prompts and then completed a surprise free recall test. Results replicated prior demonstrations of enhanced memory for self-referenced information, whereas age and self-focus decreased reports of mind-wandering. In terms of effects of interest, we found that encoding condition as well as age impacted the number of words recalled and reports of mind-wandering. However, a single mechanism does not appear to account for both of these effects, and there was no compelling evidence for age differences in the relationships amongst the factors. Future research should further examine the relationships amongst self, memory, and mind-wandering across the lifespan.

Aging and Mind Wandering: Reduced Inhibition in Older Adults?

1997 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles O. Einstein ◽  
Mark A. Mcdaniel
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Mind Wandering

scholarly journals Targeted Memory Reactivation during Mind-Wandering in Younger and Older Adults

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Nicosia
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Blind Spot ◽  
Cued Recall ◽  
Paired Associates ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Episodic Memories ◽  
Thought Probes

Mind-wandering (MW) is a universal cognitive process that is estimated to comprise ~30% of our everyday thoughts. Despite its prevalence, the functional utility of MW remains a scientific blind spot. The present study sought to investigate whether MW serves a functional role in cognition. Specifically, we investigated whether MW contributes to memory consolidation processes, and if age differences in the ability to reactivate episodic memories during MW may contribute to age-related declines in episodic memory. Younger and older adults encoded paired associates, received targeted reactivation cues during an interval filled with a task which promotes MW, and were tested on their memory for the cued and uncued stimuli from the initial encoding task. Thought probes were presented during the retention (MW) interval to assess participants’ thought contents. Across three experiments, we compared the effect of different cue modalities (i.e., auditory, visual) on cued recall performance, and examined both correct retrieval response times as well as accuracy. Across experiments, there was evidence that stimuli that were cued during the MW task were correctly retrieved more quickly than uncued stimuli and that this effect was more robust for younger adults than older adults. Additionally, the more MW a participant reported during the retention interval, the stronger the cueing effect they produced during retrieval. The results from these experiments are interpreted within a retrieval facilitation framework wherein cues serve to reactivate the earlier traces during MW, and this reactivation benefits retrieval speed for cued items as compared to uncued items.

scholarly journals Validating older adults’ reports of less mind-wandering: An examination of eye movements and dispositional influences.

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 266-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Frank ◽  
Brent Nara ◽  
Michela Zavagnin ◽  
Dayna R. Touron ◽  
Michael J. Kane
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Mind Wandering

scholarly journals Impact of Mindfulness Training on In-the-Moment Attentional Control and Emotion Dysregulation in Older Adults: Secondary Analysis of a Pilot, Placebo-Controlled Randomized Controlled Trial

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaadee Samimy ◽  
Heena Manglani ◽  
Stephanie Fountain-Zargoza ◽  
Rebecca Andridge ◽  
Ruchika Prakash
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Active Control ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Mindfulness Training ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Training Effects ◽  
The Moment

Mindfulness-based interventions show increasing promise for improving attention and emotion regulation, processes that critically support healthy aging. Given their complex, multi-faceted nature, identifying specific aspects of attention and emotion regulation that are modifiable with training in older adults, particularly compared with active control groups, is an ongoing challenge. We performed pre-registered, secondary analyses of a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing effects of a four-week mindfulness-based attention training (MBAT) and a lifestyle education active control group (LifeEd) on attention and emotion dysregulation in older adults. Primary analyses found non-significant training effects on a global measure of attention, signal detection sensitivity. However, MBAT resulted in less mind-wandering post-training. Differential training effects were assessed for: 1) in-the-moment effects of mind-wandering on sustained attention, measured by performance decrements preceding self-reported mind-wandering; and 2) self-reported emotion dysregulation. Working memory performance at baseline was tested as a moderator of training effects. No significant between-group differences for change in in-the-moment effects of mind-wandering on attention or emotion dysregulation emerged. However, baseline working memory moderated effects of mindfulness training on emotion dysregulation. Thus, brief mindfulness training, relative to an active control group, did not mitigate in-the-moment effects of mind-wandering on attention or reduce emotion dysregulation in older adults. However, baseline working memory performance moderated training effects, such that older adults with higher working memory showed greater reductions in emotion dysregulation following mindfulness training. This has potential implications for identifying aging cohorts that may benefit most from this type of training.

scholarly journals Stereotype threat as a trigger of mind-wandering in older adults.

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan L. Jordano ◽  
Dayna R. Touron
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Stereotype Threat ◽  
Mind Wandering

Aging and Attentional Control: Examining the Roles of Mind-Wandering Propensity and Dispositional Mindfulness

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 876-888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Fountain-Zaragoza ◽  
Nicole A. Puccetti ◽  
Patrick Whitmoyer ◽  
Ruchika Shaurya Prakash
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Cognitive Rehabilitation ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Continuous Performance Task ◽  
Dispositional Mindfulness ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Attentional Performance

AbstractObjectives: Aging is associated with declines in performance on certain laboratory tasks of attentional control. However, older adults tend to report greater mindful, present-moment attention and less mind-wandering (MW) than young adults. For older adults, high levels of these traits may be protective for attentional performance. This study examined age-related differences in global (i.e., full-task) and local (i.e., pre-MW) attentional control and explored the variance explained by MW and mindfulness. Methods: Cross-sectional comparisons were conducted on data from a previously reported sample of 75 older adults (ages, 60–75 years) and a new sample of 50 young adults (ages, 18–30 years). All participants completed a Go/No-Go task and a Continuous Performance Task with quasi-random MW probes. Results: There were few age-related differences in attentional control. Although MW was not associated with decrements in global performance, local performance measures revealed deleterious effects of MW, which were present across age groups. Older adults reported higher trait mindfulness and less MW than young adults, and these variables helped explain the lack of observed age-related differences in attentional control. Conclusions: Individual differences in dispositional mindfulness and MW propensity explain important variance in attentional performance across age. Increasing present-moment focus and reducing lapses in attention represent important targets for cognitive rehabilitation interventions. (JINS, 2018, 24, 876–888)

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