Paying attention to binding: Further studies assessing the role of reduced attentional resources in the associative deficit of older adults

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 1162-1174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Kilb ◽  
Moshe Naveh-Benjamin
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Attentional Resources ◽  
Associative Deficit

scholarly journals ROLE OF COPING STYLES AND NEGATIVE LIFE EVENTS ON HIGHER PERCEIVED MENTAL FATIGABILITY IN OLDER ADULTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S233-S233
Author(s):  
Theresa Gmelin ◽  
Stacy L Andersen ◽  
Robert M Boudreau ◽  
Kaare Christensen ◽  
Mary K Wojczynski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Family Study ◽  
Coping Styles ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Adaptive Coping ◽  
Attentional Resources ◽  
And Coping

Abstract Older adults are vulnerable to negative recent life events (RLE) which deplete attentional resources and leads to cognitive exhaustion. Adaptive coping styles reduce perceived stress severity but their role on cognitive tiredness is unknown. We examined RLE and coping styles on perceived mental fatigability (Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale (PFS), 0-50pts, higher=greater fatigability) in the Long Life Family Study (N=1464, age=74.7±12.6, female=57.7%, 43.9% ≥1 major RLE past 6 months, 27.8% higher mental fatigability≥13). All analyses adjusted for family structure, field center, age, and sex. PFS mental scores correlated with all NEO-FFI (60-item, 5-domain) personality traits representing maladaptive (neuroticism r=0.25 p<.0001) and adaptive (conscientiousness r=-0.18, extraversion r=-0.24, p<.00001) coping. Having ≥1RLE was associated with higher mental fatigability (OR=1.4, 95% CI:1.2,1.8, p=.0004); adjustment for neuroticism (OR=1.3, 95% CI:0.9,1.7, p=.06) attenuated the association. Education on adaptive coping may be a modifiable skill that allows older adults to maintain lower perceived mental fatigability despite stressful events.

scholarly journals Age-related associative memory deficit: simulation and strategies to improve performance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Iok Wong
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Associative Memory ◽  
Divided Attention ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Attentional Resources ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Associative Deficit ◽  
Encoding Strategies

According to the associative deficit hypothesis, older adults experience greater difficulty in remembering associations between pieces of information (associative memory) than young adults, despite their relatively intact memory for individual items (item memory). Recent research suggests that this deficit might be related to older adults’ reduced availability of attentional resources – the reservoir of mental energy needed for the operations of cognition functions. The purpose of this Dissertation was to examine the role of attentional resources in associative deficit, and to explore encoding manipulations that might alleviate the deficit in older adults. In Study 1, young adults’ attentional resources during encoding of word pairs were depleted using a divided attention task. These participants showed an associative deficit commonly observed in older adults, and were less likely to use effective encoding strategies and recollection-based processes to support their memory in comparison to young adults under full attention. The resemblance in memory performance between young adults under divided attention and older adults suggests that lack of attentional resources might be a contributing factor in older adults’ associative deficit. In Study 2, participants’ resource load during encoding was reduced by learning individual items and their associations sequentially in two phases. Older adults in this condition showed equivalent memory performance to young adults, and were more likely to use effective encoding strategies and recollection-based processes than older adults in Study 1 who studied items and associations simultaneously. Finally, Study 3 employed a value-directed learning paradigm, in which participants studied high- and low-value word pairs. Older adults showed similar memory performance for both high- and low-value word pairs as young adults, without any signs of associative deficit. Assigning value to associative information might prompt older adults to prioritize associative encoding over item encoding, which benefits their associative memory. Taken together, these results suggest that depletion of attentional resources during encoding could impair associative memory. Furthermore, older adults’ associative deficit could be effectively alleviated with sufficient environmental support during encoding, such as when resource competition between item and associative encoding is minimized (Study 2) or when being guided to prioritize encoding of associations over items (Study 3).

scholarly journals Age-related associative memory deficit: simulation and strategies to improve performance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Iok Wong
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Associative Memory ◽  
Divided Attention ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Attentional Resources ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Associative Deficit ◽  
Encoding Strategies

According to the associative deficit hypothesis, older adults experience greater difficulty in remembering associations between pieces of information (associative memory) than young adults, despite their relatively intact memory for individual items (item memory). Recent research suggests that this deficit might be related to older adults’ reduced availability of attentional resources – the reservoir of mental energy needed for the operations of cognition functions. The purpose of this Dissertation was to examine the role of attentional resources in associative deficit, and to explore encoding manipulations that might alleviate the deficit in older adults. In Study 1, young adults’ attentional resources during encoding of word pairs were depleted using a divided attention task. These participants showed an associative deficit commonly observed in older adults, and were less likely to use effective encoding strategies and recollection-based processes to support their memory in comparison to young adults under full attention. The resemblance in memory performance between young adults under divided attention and older adults suggests that lack of attentional resources might be a contributing factor in older adults’ associative deficit. In Study 2, participants’ resource load during encoding was reduced by learning individual items and their associations sequentially in two phases. Older adults in this condition showed equivalent memory performance to young adults, and were more likely to use effective encoding strategies and recollection-based processes than older adults in Study 1 who studied items and associations simultaneously. Finally, Study 3 employed a value-directed learning paradigm, in which participants studied high- and low-value word pairs. Older adults showed similar memory performance for both high- and low-value word pairs as young adults, without any signs of associative deficit. Assigning value to associative information might prompt older adults to prioritize associative encoding over item encoding, which benefits their associative memory. Taken together, these results suggest that depletion of attentional resources during encoding could impair associative memory. Furthermore, older adults’ associative deficit could be effectively alleviated with sufficient environmental support during encoding, such as when resource competition between item and associative encoding is minimized (Study 2) or when being guided to prioritize encoding of associations over items (Study 3).

The Role of Visual Distractors in the Simon Effect

2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 387-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luisa Lugli ◽  
Stefania D’Ascenzo ◽  
Roberto Nicoletti ◽  
Carlo Umiltà
Keyword(s):  
Simon Effect ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Automatic Generation ◽  
Spatial Code ◽  
Attentional Model ◽  
Previous Evidence ◽  
Spatial Stimulus ◽  
Attentional Resources ◽  
Code Changes

Abstract. The Simon effect lies on the automatic generation of a stimulus spatial code, which, however, is not relevant for performing the task. Results typically show faster performance when stimulus and response locations correspond, rather than when they do not. Considering reaction time distributions, two types of Simon effect have been individuated, which are thought to depend on different mechanisms: visuomotor activation versus cognitive translation of spatial codes. The present study aimed to investigate whether the presence of a distractor, which affects the allocation of attentional resources and, thus, the time needed to generate the spatial code, changes the nature of the Simon effect. In four experiments, we manipulated the presence and the characteristics of the distractor. Findings extend previous evidence regarding the distinction between visuomotor activation and cognitive translation of spatial stimulus codes in a Simon task. They are discussed with reference to the attentional model of the Simon effect.

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