scholarly journals Visual Attention and Aging: an Age-Related Cognitive Model of Positive Adaptation

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-191
Author(s):  
José Manuel Rodríguez-Ferrer
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Positive Adaptation ◽  
Healthy Elderly ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Healthy Young People

We have studied the effects of normal aging on visual attention. Have participated a group of 38 healthy elderly people with an average age of 67.8 years and a group of 39 healthy young people with average age of 19.2 years. In a first experiment of visual detection, response times were recorded, with and without covert attention, to the presentation of stimuli (0.5º in diameter grey circles) appearing in three eccentricities (2.15, 3.83 and 5.53° of visual field) and with three levels of contrast (6, 16 and 78%). In a second experiment of visual form discrimination circles and squares with the same features as in the previous experiment were presented, but in this case subjects only should respond to the emergence of the circles. In both age groups, the covert attention reduced response times. Compared to young people, the older group achieved better results in some aspects of attention tests and response times were reduced more in the stimuli of greater eccentricity. The data suggest that there is a mechanism of adaptation in aging, in which visual attention especially favors the perception of those stimuli more difficult to detec

scholarly journals Visual Attention and Aging: an Age-Related Cognitive Model of Positive Adaptation

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-191
Author(s):  
José Manuel Rodríguez-Ferrer
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Positive Adaptation ◽  
Healthy Elderly ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Healthy Young People

We have studied the effects of normal aging on visual attention. Have participated a group of 38 healthy elderly people with an average age of 67.8 years and a group of 39 healthy young people with average age of 19.2 years. In a first experiment of visual detection, response times were recorded, with and without covert attention, to the presentation of stimuli (0.5º in diameter grey circles) appearing in three eccentricities (2.15, 3.83 and 5.53° of visual field) and with three levels of contrast (6, 16 and 78%). In a second experiment of visual form discrimination circles and squares with the same features as in the previous experiment were presented, but in this case subjects only should respond to the emergence of the circles. In both age groups, the covert attention reduced response times. Compared to young people, the older group achieved better results in some aspects of attention tests and response times were reduced more in the stimuli of greater eccentricity. The data suggest that there is a mechanism of adaptation in aging, in which visual attention especially favors the perception of those stimuli more difficult to detec

scholarly journals Impairment of visual perception in Aging: Compensatory brain mechanisms

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-186
Author(s):  
José M. Rodríguez-Ferrer
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Visual Perception ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Progressive Increase ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Polar Coordinates ◽  
Normal Vision ◽  
Adult Group ◽  
Low Contrast

We have studied the effects of normal aging on visual perception and the existence of possible compensatory brain mechanisms. Were measured in three groups of 30 people with normal vision and average age of 19.6, 42.6 and 65.7 years, the response time to the presentation of stimuli (0.5º in diameter grey circles) sequentially in 24 positions of the visual field, distributed in 8 polar coordinates and 3 eccentricities (2.15, 3.83 and 5.53 degrees of visual field). The stimulus was presented for 100 milliseconds, with low and high contrast (6% and 78%, respectively). The experiments were conducted with and without covert attention to stimuli. With age was observed a progressive increase in the response times from the stimuli of 6% of contrast and those presented in the eccentricity of 5.53º. With covert attention, response times were significantly reduced in the three age groups. However, while the younger and older showed similar reductions in the response times, the adult group obtained minor cuts. These results show that during aging occurs a selective and progressive deterioration in the perception of low contrast and that this deterioration is greater in the peripheral macular areas and that from sixty years the visual attention compensating mechanisms have greater efficiency in the improvement of visual perception.

scholarly journals INFLUENCE OF ANXIETY RELATED TO EXAMINATION STRESS ON VISUAL ATTENTION SHIFTS AND ELECTRIC ACTIVITY OF BRAIN FRONT ZONES

2020 ◽  
pp. 100-111
Author(s):  
A.P. Astashchenko ◽  
N.P. Gorbatenko ◽  
E.V. Dorokhov ◽  
S.I. Varvarova ◽  
P.V. Zyablova
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Alpha Activity ◽  
Attention Shift ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Frontal Brain ◽  
Threatening Information ◽  
Healthy Young People ◽  
Examination Stress ◽  
Anxiety Levels

The attention of anxious people can be highly sensitive to environmental stimuli associated with threat. Such stimuli attract principle attention, thereby contributing to its shift. The purpose of the paper was to study the relationship between the sensorimotor characteristics of visual attention and bioelectrical brain activity in healthy young people under anxiety associated with examination stress. Materials and Methods. The authors examined 39 healthy young people (university students) when performing tasks for visual attention to emotional (threatening) information. The characteristics of alpha activity spectral power in the frontal brain lobes and sensorimotor reactions were studied. The experimental series included 2 stages: a psychometric study (assessment of anxiety levels, depression and inclination to aggression) and EEG recording of background activity with open/closed eyes when performing visual attention tasks on emotional stimuli. Results. According to the results of cognitive tasks, the trial subjects were divided into 3 groups: with a visual attention shift to threatening information, with a visual attention shift from threatening information and without any attention shift. According to psychometric studies, trial subjects showed excessive anxiety levels (HADS). Subjects with a visual attention shift to threatening information demonstrated hostile aggression, including enmity and anger (BPAQ). Conclusion. In an anxiety state associated with examination stress, the students’ visual attention may shift to/from negatively colored emotional information. Young people with a high anxiety level and an attention shift to threatening information are presumably characterized by a high hostility level. Difficulties in distracting attention from emotional (threatening) information are probably associated with a relatively higher activation level of the right frontal brain zones. Keywords: anxiety, emotional information, frontal brain zones, alpha activity, attention shift. Показано, что система внимания тревожных людей может быть высоко чувствительна к стимулам окружающей среды, связанным с угрозой и привлекающим внимание в первую очередь, что способствует смещению внимания. Цель исследования – изучение взаимосвязи между сенсомоторными характеристиками зрительного внимания и особенностями биоэлектрической активности мозга в состоянии тревожности, связанной с экзаменационным стрессом, у здоровых молодых людей. Материалы и методы. Исследовали особенности спектральной мощности альфа-диапазона ЭЭГ во фронтальных отведениях мозга и сенсомоторных реакций при выполнении заданий на зрительное внимание к эмоциональной (угрожающей) информации у 39 здоровых молодых людей (обучающихся вуза). Экспериментальная серия включала 2 этапа: психометрическое исследование (оценка уровней тревожности, депрессии и склонности к агрессии) и регистрацию ЭЭГ фоновой активности с открытыми, закрытыми глазами и при выполнении заданий на зрительное внимание к эмоциональным стимулам. Результаты. По результатам выполнения когнитивных заданий участники исследования были разделены на 3 группы: «со смещением зрительного внимания к угрожающей информации», «со смещением зрительного внимания от угрожающей информации» и «с отсутствием смещения внимания». По данным психометрических исследований испытуемые характеризовались уровнями тревожности, превышающими норму (тест HADS). Участники группы «со смещением зрительного внимания к угрожающей информации» имели такие выраженные характеристики агрессии, как враждебность и гнев (тест BPAQ). Выводы. В состоянии тревожности, связанной с экзаменационным стрессом, зрительное внимание обучающихся может сопровождаться смещением внимания к/от негативно окрашенной эмоциональной информации. Для молодых людей с высоким уровнем тревожности и смещением внимания к угрожающей информации предположительно характерно наличие высокого уровня враждебности. Трудности с отвлечением внимания от эмоциональной (угрожающей) информации, вероятно, связаны со сравнительно более высоким уровнем активации фронтальных зон мозга справа. Ключевые слова: тревожность, эмоциональная информация, фронтальные зоны мозга, активность α-диапазона ЭЭГ, смещение внимания.

scholarly journals Age-Related Changes in Hemispherical Specialization for Attentional Networks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Casagrande ◽  
Francesca Agostini ◽  
Francesca Favieri ◽  
Giuseppe Forte ◽  
Jasmine Giovannoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Control ◽  
Hemispheric Specialization ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Healthy Elderly ◽  
Attentional Functioning ◽  
Attentional Networks ◽  
Age Related

Many cognitive functions face a decline in the healthy elderly. Within the cognitive domains, both attentional processes and executive functions are impaired with aging. Attention includes three attentional networks, i.e., alerting, orienting, and executive control that showed a hemispheric lateralized pattern in adults. This lateralized pattern could have a role in modulating the efficiency of attentional networks. For these reasons could be relevant to analyze the age-related change of hemispheric specialization of attentional networks. This study aims to clarify this aspect with a lateralized version of the ANTI-Fruit. One hundred sixty-seven participants took part in this study. They are divided in three age groups: early adulthood (N=57; Range: 20-30); late adulthood (N=57; Range 31-64) and elderly/older people (N=57; Range: 65-87). Results confirm the previous outcomes on the efficiency and interactions among attentional networks. Moreover, an age-related generalized slowness was evidenced. These findings also support the hypothesis of a hemispheric asymmetry reduction in elderly/older adults. This pattern could partially explain the decrease in attentional functioning in elderly/older age.

Age Differences in the Useful Field of View in a Part-Task Driving Simulator

1993 ◽  
Vol 37 (14) ◽  
pp. 960-963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Walker ◽  
Catherine Sedney ◽  
Kathryn Wochinger ◽  
Deborah A. Boehm-Davis ◽  
William A. Perez
Keyword(s):  
Age Differences ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Field Of View ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Useful Field Of View ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Motion Threshold

This study investigated age-related differences in the useful field of view (UFOV) using a part-task driving simulator. Thirty-six licensed drivers, aged 20-25, 40-45, and 65-70, participated. Dynamic roadway images were projected on screens to the front and sides of the driver. Target stimuli consisted of full-size simplified images of a van moving forward on the side screens at a speed below the motion threshold. Subjects performed forward view tracking and cognitive tasks while responding to the van stimuli on the side screens. Increased levels of the forward view task load adversely affected response times to the vans for the older group only, but performance of the tracking task declined for all age groups with increased load.

scholarly journals Age-Related Changes in Attentional Refocusing during Simulated Driving

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 530
Author(s):  
Eleanor Huizeling ◽  
Hongfang Wang ◽  
Carol Holland ◽  
Klaus Kessler
Keyword(s):  
Response Times ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Simulated Driving ◽  
Switching Performance ◽  
Road Sign ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Gerontological Research ◽  
Spatial Tasks ◽  
Age Related Changes

We recently reported that refocusing attention between temporal and spatial tasks becomes more difficult with increasing age, which could impair daily activities such as driving (Callaghan et al., 2017). Here, we investigated the extent to which difficulties in refocusing attention extend to naturalistic settings such as simulated driving. A total of 118 participants in five age groups (18–30; 40–49; 50–59; 60–69; 70–91 years) were compared during continuous simulated driving, where they repeatedly switched from braking due to traffic ahead (a spatially focal yet temporally complex task) to reading a motorway road sign (a spatially more distributed task). Sequential-Task (switching) performance was compared to Single-Task performance (road sign only) to calculate age-related switch-costs. Electroencephalography was recorded in 34 participants (17 in the 18–30 and 17 in the 60+ years groups) to explore age-related changes in the neural oscillatory signatures of refocusing attention while driving. We indeed observed age-related impairments in attentional refocusing, evidenced by increased switch-costs in response times and by deficient modulation of theta and alpha frequencies. Our findings highlight virtual reality (VR) and Neuro-VR as important methodologies for future psychological and gerontological research.

scholarly journals Aging Increases Cross-Modal Distraction by Unexpected Sounds: Controlling for Response Speed

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia Leiva ◽  
Pilar Andrés ◽  
Fabrice B. R. Parmentier
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Bayesian Estimation ◽  
Effect Size ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Response Speed ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Age Related ◽  
General Slowing

It is well-established that task-irrelevant sounds deviating from an otherwise predictable auditory sequence capture attention and disrupt ongoing performance by delaying responses in the ongoing task. In visual tasks, larger distraction by unexpected sounds (deviance distraction) has been reported in older than in young adults. However, past studies based this conclusion on the comparisons of absolute response times (RT) and did not control for the general slowing typically observed in older adults. Hence, it remains unclear whether this difference in deviance distraction between the two age groups reflects a genuine effect of aging or a proportional effect of similar size in both groups. We addressed this issue by using a proportional measure of distraction (PMD) to reanalyze the data from four past studies and used Bayesian estimation to generate credible estimates of the age-related difference in deviance distraction and its effect size. The results were unambiguous: older adults exhibited greater deviance distraction than young adults when controlling for baseline response speed (in each individual study and in the combined data set). Bayesian estimation revealed a proportional lengthening of RT by unexpected sounds that was about twice as large in older than in young adults (corresponding to a large statistical effect size). A similar analysis was carried out on the proportion of correct responses (PC) and produced converging results. Finally, an additional Bayesian analysis comparing data from cross-modal and uni-modal studies confirmed the selective effect of aging on distraction in the first and not the second. Overall, our study shows that older adults performing a visual categorization task do exhibit greater distraction by unexpected sounds than young adults and that this effect is not explicable by age-related general slowing.

FEATURES OF THE DYNAMICS OF THE INCIDENCE OF ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA AMONG CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-223
Author(s):  
I. Bagirov
Keyword(s):  
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Young People ◽  
Narrow Range ◽  
Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Main Trend ◽  
Morbidity Rate ◽  
Clinical Protocols ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Age Related

Objective of the study: to assess the age-related dynamics of the incidences of ALL among children and young people in Azerbaijan during 1998-2014 years. Materials and methods of the study. Study has been held on the basis of the Azerbaijan Scientific and Research Institute of Haematology and Transfusiology named after B.A.Eyvazov where has been concentrated services of treatment and registration of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. All patients under age of 30 years, determined during 1998-2014 years, have been observed. Diagnosis of ALL was confirmed in accordance with the program of the examinations, provided in the clinical protocols. Achieved results. In all periods of observation the highest value of the incidence of ALL in the 0-4 age group, which changed within the interval of 2,5 till 6,2In 5-9 years group morbidity rate of ALL varies within relatively narrow range: from 1,1 till 3,5. During 1998-2014 years in 10-14 years group morbidity rate of ALL also varies within relatively narrow range. Conclusions: The main trend of morbidity with ALL for all age groups is the tendency of increasing during 1998-2014 years.

scholarly journals Age-Related Differences in Executive Functions Within High-Level Youth Soccer Players

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Francis Beavan ◽  
Jan Spielmann ◽  
Jan Mayer ◽  
Sabrina Skorski ◽  
Tim Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functions ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Soccer Players ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Effect Of Age

Background: When measuring executive functions (EF), it is common for athletes to be assessed on their ability to detect and process explicit sources of information. Yet not all of the information is perceived explicitly in an environment. Aim: This study aimed to include a new assessment that measures the impact of implicitly perceived congruent and incongruent visual precues on response times. Method: Seventy-four male soccer players: U12 (n=15), U13 (n=17), U17 (n=21) and U19 (n=21) representing a German 1st league club were assessed on four cognitive tasks. Results: The MANOVAs revealed a multivariate effect of age group on a reactive stress tolerance task (F(6,140)=11.670, p<0.001, ES=0.38) and a Stop Signal Reaction Time task (F(6,144)=6.142, p<0.001, ES=0.20). A one-way ANOVA revealed an age group effect for response accuracy in a multiple-object-tracking task (F(3,74)=4.05, p=0.01, ES=0.14). Lastly, a within-subjects effect of congruency on the implicit precued task (F(1,74)=51.32, p<0.001, ES=0.41) and a between-subjects effect of age group (F(3,74)=4.30, p=0.008, ES=0.15) was observed. Interpretation: The results provided support for including an implicit precueing task, while the overall testing demonstrated that the magnitude of the increase in EF performance between ages was greater across the younger age groups compared to the older age groups.  

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