scholarly journals A multimodal analysis of sustained attention in younger and older adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Kyle Robison ◽  
Nathaniel T. Diede ◽  
Jessica Nicosia ◽  
Hunter Ball ◽  
Julie Bugg
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Reaction Time ◽  
Sustained Attention ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Pupillary Responses

Age-related cognitive decline has been attributed to processing speed differences, as well as differences in executive control and response inhibition. However, recent research has shown that healthy older adults have intact, if not superior, sustained attention abilities compared to younger adults. The present study used a combination of reaction time, thought probes, and pupillometry to measure sustained attention in samples of younger and older adults. The reaction time data revealed that, while slightly slower overall, older adults sustained their attention to the task better than younger adults, and did not show a vigilance decrement. Older adults also reported fewer instances of task-unrelated thoughts and reported feeling more motivated and alert than younger adults, despite finding the task more demanding. Additionally, older adults showed larger, albeit later-peaking, task-evoked pupillary responses, corroborating the behavioral and self-report data. Finally, older adults did not show a shallowing of task-evoked pupillary responses across time, corroborating the finding that their reaction times also did not change across time. The present findings are interpreted in light of processing speed theory, resource-depletion theories of vigilance, and recent neurological theories of cognitive aging.

scholarly journals Cognitive aging and verbal labeling in continuous visual memory

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 1196-1213
Author(s):  
Alicia Forsberg ◽  
Wendy Johnson ◽  
Robert H. Logie
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Visual Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Age Related

Abstract The decline of working memory (WM) is a common feature of general cognitive decline, and visual and verbal WM capacity appear to decline at different rates with age. Visual material may be remembered via verbal codes or visual traces, or both. Souza and Skóra, Cognition, 166, 277–297 (2017) found that labeling boosted memory in younger adults by activating categorical visual long-term memory (LTM) knowledge. Here, we replicated this and tested whether it held in healthy older adults. We compared performance in silence, under instructed overt labeling (participants were asked to say color names out loud), and articulatory suppression (repeating irrelevant syllables to prevent labeling) in the delayed estimation paradigm. Overt labeling improved memory performance in both age groups. However, comparing the effect of overt labeling and suppression on the number of coarse, categorical representations in the two age groups suggested that older adults used verbal labels subvocally more than younger adults, when performing the task in silence. Older adults also appeared to benefit from labels differently than younger adults. In younger adults labeling appeared to improve visual, continuous memory, suggesting that labels activated visual LTM representations. However, for older adults, labels did not appear to enhance visual, continuous representations, but instead boosted memory via additional verbal (categorical) memory traces. These results challenged the assumption that visual memory paradigms measure the same cognitive ability in younger and older adults, and highlighted the importance of controlling differences in age-related strategic preferences in visual memory tasks.

scholarly journals Evidence against preserved syntactic comprehension in healthy aging

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Poulisse ◽  
Linda Wheeldon ◽  
Katrien Segaert
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Syntactic Processing ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Processing Abilities ◽  
Speed And Accuracy

AbstractWe investigated age-related differences in syntactic comprehension in young and older adults. Most previous research found no evidence of age-related decline in syntactic processing. We investigated elementary syntactic comprehension of minimal sentences (e.g. I cook), minimizing the influence of working memory. We also investigated the contribution of semantic processing by comparing sentences containing real verbs (e.g. I cook) versus pseudoverbs (e.g. I spuff). We measured the speed and accuracy of detecting syntactic agreement errors (e.g. I cooks, I spuffs). We found that older adults were slower and less accurate than younger adults in detecting syntactic agreement errors for both real and pseudoverb sentences, suggesting there is age-related decline in syntactic comprehension. The age-related decline in accuracy was smaller for the pseudoverb sentences, and the decline in speed was larger for the pseudoverb sentences, compared to real verb sentences. We suggest that syntactic comprehension decline is stronger in the absence of semantic information, which causes older adults to produce slower responses in order to make more accurate decisions. In line with these findings, performance for older adults was positively related to a measure of processing speed capacity. Taken together, we found evidence that elementary syntactic processing abilities decline in healthy ageing.

scholarly journals Age-related Changes in Ongoing Thought Relate to External Context and Individual Cognition

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 967-967
Author(s):  
Adam Turnbull ◽  
Giulia Poerio ◽  
Feng Lin ◽  
Jonathan Smallwood
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Experience Sampling ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes

Abstract Understanding how age-related changes in cognition manifest in the real world is an important goal for aging research. One means of capturing these changes involves “experience sampling” participant’s self-reported thoughts as they go about their daily lives. Previous research using this method has shown age-related changes in ongoing thought: e.g., older adults have fewer thoughts unrelated to the here-and-now. However, it is currently unclear how these changes reflect cognitive aging or lifestyle changes. 78 younger adults and 35 older adults rated their thought contents along 20 dimensions and the difficulty of their current activity in their daily lives. They also performed cognitive tasks in the laboratory. In a set of exploratory analyses using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), we found that older adults spent more time thinking positive, wanted thoughts, particularly in demanding contexts, suggesting they may use different strategies to regulate their emotions. In line with previous research, older adults spent less time mind wandering about their future selves. Past-related thought related to episodic memory differently in older and younger adults. Additionally, PCA analyses performed separately in older and younger adults showed high similarity to an analysis performed on the combined sample, suggesting a similar structure to ongoing daily life thought in older and younger adults. These findings inform the use of experience sampling to understand cognitive aging, highlighting the need to consider content along multiple dimensions as well as the context in which thoughts are reported when analyzing aging ongoing thought.

scholarly journals Age differences in sustained attention tasks: A meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonino Vallesi ◽  
Virginia Tronelli ◽  
Francesco Lomi ◽  
Rachele Pezzetta
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Sustained Attention ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Posterror Slowing ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Response Task

AbstractMany aspects of attention decline with aging. There is a current debate on how aging also affects sustained attention. In this study, we contribute to this debate by meta-analytically comparing performance on the go/no-go Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) in younger and older adults. We included only studies in which the SART had a low proportion of no-go trials (5%–30%), there was a random or quasirandom stimulus presentation, and data on both healthy younger and older adults were available. A total of 12 studies were suitable with 832 younger adults and 690 older adults. Results showed that older adults were slower than younger adults on go trials (g = 1, 95% CI [.72, 1.27]) and more accurate than younger adults on no-go trials (g = .59, 95% CI [.32, .85]). Moreover, older adults were slower after a no-go error than younger adults (g = .79, 95% CI [.60, .99]). These results are compatible with an age-related processing speed deficit, mostly suggested by longer go RTs, but also with an increased preference for a prudent strategy, as demonstrated by fewer no-go errors and greater posterror slowing in older adults. An inhibitory deficit account could not explain these findings, as older adults actually outperformed younger adults by producing fewer false alarms to no-go stimuli. These findings point to a more prudent strategy when using attentional resources in aging that allows reducing the false-alarm rate in tasks producing a tendency for automatic responding.

scholarly journals Effects of Age Differences in Memory Formation on Neural Mechanisms of Consolidation and Retrieval

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myriam C. Sander ◽  
Yana Fandakova ◽  
Markus Werkle-Bergner
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Memory Decline ◽  
Memory Processing ◽  
Memory Impairments ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Memory Network

Episodic memory decline is a hallmark of cognitive aging and a multifaceted phenomenon. We review studies that target age differences across different memory processing stages, i.e., from encoding to retrieval. The available evidence cumulates in the proposition that older adults form memories of lower quality than younger adults, which has negative downstream consequences for later processing stages. We argue that low memory quality in combination with age-related neural decline of key regions of the episodic memory network puts older adults in a double jeopardy situation that finally results in broader memory impairments in older compared to younger adults.

scholarly journals Domain general processes moderate age-related performance differences on the mnemonic similarity task

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris M. Foster ◽  
Kelly S. Giovanello
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Study Phase ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Cognitive Changes ◽  
Inhibitory Function ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Item Level

Several prominent domain general theories (e.g., processing speed and inhibitory function) have been developed to explain cognitive changes associated with aging. A bias to “pattern complete” in aging has also been suggested to account for age-related changes that are specific to episodic memory. The current experiments test whether domain-general processes of cognitive aging moderate the bias to pattern complete. The study phase of the mnemonic similarity task, a memory task with old, new, and similar trials at recognition, was manipulated to assess the contribution of processing speed (Experiment 1 – different encoding times) and inhibitory function (Experiment 2 – item-level directed forgetting) to the age-related bias to pattern complete in a sample of 100 healthy younger and older adults. Both experiments exhibited significant interactions between age group and encoding manipulation, replicating a bias to pattern complete in aging, and indicating that processing speed and inhibitory function moderate this effect. Age-related differences in performance on the mnemonic similarity task are moderated by experimental manipulations of domain general processes that also decline with age, providing evidence for conditions that can ameliorate and explain performance decrements on the mnemonic similarity task in older adults.

Which Phish Is on the Hook? Phishing Vulnerability for Older Versus Younger Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 704-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn M. Sarno ◽  
Joanna E. Lewis ◽  
Corey J. Bohil ◽  
Mark B. Neider
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Time Pressure ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Unlimited Time ◽  
Task Conditions ◽  
The Cost

ObjectiveTo determine if there are age-related differences in phishing vulnerability and if those differences exist under various task conditions (e.g., framing and time pressure).BackgroundPrevious research suggests that older adults may be a vulnerable population to phishing attacks. Most research exploring age differences has used limiting designs, including retrospective self-report measures and restricted email sets.MethodThe present studies explored how older and younger adults classify a diverse sample of 100 legitimate and phishing emails. In Experiment 1, participants rated the emails as either spam or not spam. Experiment 2 explored how framing would alter the results when participants rated emails as safe or not safe. In Experiment 3, participants performed the same task as Experiment 1, but were put under time pressure.ResultsNo age differences were observed in overall classification accuracy across the three experiments, rather all participants exhibited poor performance (20%–30% errors). Older adults took significantly longer to make classifications and were more liberal in classifying emails as spam or not safe. Time pressure seemed to remove this bias but did not influence overall accuracy.ConclusionOlder adults appear to be more cautious when classifying emails. However, being extra careful may come at the cost of classification speed and does not seem to improve accuracy.ApplicationAge demographics should be considered in the implementation of a cyber-training methodology. Younger adults may be less vigilant against cyber threats than initially predicted; older adults might be less prone to deception when given unlimited time to respond.

Neural Recruitment and Cognitive Aging: Two Hemispheres Are Better Than One, Especially as You Age

1999 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 494-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Reuter-Lorenz ◽  
Louise Stanczak ◽  
Andrea C. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Visual Fields ◽  
Complex Task ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes ◽  
Better Than

Several neuroimaging studies have reported that older adults show weaker activations in some brain areas together with stronger activations in other areas, compared with younger adults performing the same task. This pattern may reflect neural recruitment that compensates for age-related neural declines. The recruitment hypothesis was tested in a visual laterality study that investigated age differences in the efficiency of bihemispheric processing. Letter-matching tasks of varying complexity were performed under two conditions: (a) matching letters projected to the same visual field (hemisphere) and (b) matching letters projected to opposite visual fields (hemispheres). As predicted by the recruitment hypothesis, older adults generally performed better in the bilateral than unilateral condition, whereas younger adults showed this pattern only for the most complex task. We discuss the relation between these results and neuroimaging evidence for recruitment, and the relevance of the present bihemispheric advantage to other evidence for age-related changes in interhemispheric transfer.

Switching Between Attentional Demands – A Brief Report Comparing Findings from Younger and Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-241
Author(s):  
Magnus Liebherr ◽  
Stephanie Antons ◽  
Matthias Brand
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Divided Attention ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Attentional Demands ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Switching Attention

The increasing relevance to adapt quickly to changes in the environment is contrasted by an inverted U-shaped curve of task-switching abilities over the lifespan. While previous studies most commonly focused on switching between rules, modalities, and attributes, the process of switching between different attentional demands is somehow neglected. Therefore, the present study aims to fill this gap by applying a recently introduced paradigm on switching between attentional demands to younger and older adults. Within the present study, 116 younger adults (age: minmax: 18-30, M=22.31 years, SD=3.17; 85 women) and 93 older adults (age: minmax: 60-89, M=68.29 years, SD=6.18; 15 women) completed the Switching Attentional Demands-task (SwAD-task). The task enables to quantify single-task performance of selective and divided attention, but more important the ability of switching between these demands. Findings indicate faster response times in selective attention than divided attention for both groups. Furthermore, older adults showed longer response times in selective attention, divided attention, as well as switching attention, compared to their younger counterparts. Age-related changes are discussed by considering the frontal ageing hypothesis, processing-speed theory, as well as common factor theories of cognitive ageing. Furthermore, previous neurophysiological findings are taken into account to explain findings at hand.

scholarly journals Age Differences in the Frontal Lateralization of Verbal and Spatial Working Memory Revealed by PET

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Reuter-Lorenz ◽  
John Jonides ◽  
Edward E. Smith ◽  
Alan Hartley ◽  
Andrea Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Opposite Hemisphere ◽  
Global Pattern ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related

Age-related decline in working memory figures prominently in theories of cognitive aging. However, the effects of aging on the neural substrate of working memory are largely unknown. Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to investigate verbal and spatial short-term storage (3 sec) in older and younger adults. Previous investigations with younger subjects performing these same tasks have revealed asymmetries in the lateral organization of verbal and spatial working memory. Using volume of interest (VOI) analyses that specifically compared activation at sites identified with working memory to their homologous twin in the opposite hemisphere, we show pronounced age differences in this organization, particularly in the frontal lobes: In younger adults, activation is predominantly left lateralized for verbal working memory, and right lateralized for spatial working memory, whereas older adults show a global pattern of anterior bilateral activation for both types of memory. Analyses of frontal subregions indicate that several underlying patterns contribute to global bilaterality in older adults: most notably, bilateral activation in areas associated with rehearsal, and paradoxical laterality in dorsolateral prefrontal sites (DLPFC; greater left activation for spatial and greater right activation for verbal). We consider several mechanisms that could account for these age differences including the possibility that bilateral activation reflects recruitment to compensate for neural decline.

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