We examined age-related differences in figure-ground perception by exploring the effect of age on Convexity Context Effects (CCE; Peterson & Salvagio, 2008). Experiment 1, using Peterson and Salvagio's procedure and black and white stimuli consisting of 2 to 8 alternating concave and convex regions, established that older adults exhibited reduced CCEs compared to younger adults. Experiments 2 and 3 demonstrated that this age difference was found at various stimulus durations and sizes. Experiment 4 compared CCEs obtained with achromatic stimuli, in which the alternating convex and concave regions were each all black or all white, and chromatic stimuli in which the concave regions were homogeneous in color but the convex regions varied in color. We found that the difference between CCEs measured with achromatic and colored stimuli was larger in older than in younger adults. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the senescent visual system is less able to resolve the competition among various perceptual interpretations of the figure-ground relations among stimulus regions.

Figure 1. Bezel size/compensation conditions. (a) No bezels. (b) 0.25 cm size, compensation off; (c) 4 cm size, compensation on. (d) Close-up of player ship split by un-compensated bezels. (e) Close-up of player ship occluded by compensated bezels.

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Importance: Attentional engagement is essential for successful cognitive rehabilitation, but little is known about longitudinal interactions with skill learning. Objective: To examine how attentional engagement is associated with mobile application skill learning for memory compensation. We hypothesized that patients with greater functional capacity would demonstrate faster learning and attentional engagement drop with skill acquisition, whereas patients with lesser functional capacity would have to maintain attentional engagement to progress throughout training. Design: A case series approach was used with longitudinal skill learning and electroencephalographic (EEG) data recorded across multiple trials and sessions of mobile calendar application training. Setting: The study was run in a hospital-based neuropsychology clinic. Participants: Seven participants (5 with acquired brain injury, 1 with mild cognitive impairment, and 1 healthy older adult) were recruited. Intervention: Mobile application operation was trained for the purpose of memory compensation. Skill learning was facilitated through a structured rehabilitation protocol, including large amounts of guided practice with the integration of errorless learning. Outcomes and Measures: We quantified learning using the proportion of application steps completed independently at each session. We measured attentional engagement using an EEG marker: the Brain Engagement Index. Results: For fast learners, attentional engagement generally decreased as mobile application learning progressed. In contrast, slow learners exhibited stable engagement over time with consistent, yet much slower, progress in skill learning. Conclusions and Relevance: The present data indicate that when cognitive impairment is more substantial, skill learning may involve greater attentional engagement. What This Article Adds: Patients undergoing memory rehabilitation may benefit from methods to enhance attentional engagement during skill learning when executive dysfunction is a considerable element of their cognitive profile. Monitoring attentional engagement during cognitive rehabilitation may be useful in identifying and addressing barriers to learning in real time.

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