Age Differences in Intra-Individual Variability in Simple and Choice Reaction Time: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

BackgroundIntra-individual variability in reaction time (RT IIV) is considered to be an index of central nervous system functioning. Such variability is elevated in neurodegenerative diseases or following traumatic brain injury. It has also been suggested to increase with age in healthy ageing.ObjectivesTo investigate and quantify age differences in RT IIV in healthy ageing; to examine the effect of different tasks and procedures; to compare raw and mean-adjusted measures of RT IIV.Data SourcesFour electronic databases: PsycINFO, Medline, Web of Science and EMBASE, and hand searching of reference lists of relevant studies.Study EligibilityEnglish language journal articles, books or book chapters, containing quantitative empirical data on simple and/or choice RT IIV. Samples had to include younger (under 60 years) and older (60 years and above) human adults.Study Appraisal and SynthesisStudies were evaluated in terms of sample representativeness and data treatment. Relevant data were extracted, using a specially-designed form, from the published report or obtained directly from the study authors. Age-group differences in raw and RT-mean-adjusted measures of simple and choice RT IIV were quantified using random effects meta-analyses.ResultsOlder adults (60+ years) had greater RT IIV than younger (20–39) and middle-aged (40–59) adults. Age effects were larger in choice RT tasks than in simple RT tasks. For all measures of RT IIV, effect sizes were larger for the comparisons between older and younger adults than between older and middle-aged adults, indicating that the age-related increases in RT IIV are not limited to old age. Effect sizes were also larger for raw than for RT-mean-adjusted RT IIV measures.ConclusionsRT IIV is greater among older adults. Some (but not all) of the age-related increases in RT IIV are accounted for by the increased RT means.

Thalamic functional connectivity and its association with behavioral performance in older age

“…Paired associates learning (PAL) task and simple reaction time (SRT) task from the CANTAB battery were employed as measures of memory (visual–spatial) and reaction time, both of which are affected by advancing age (Der & Deary, 2006; Dykiert, Der, Starr, & Deary, 2012; Petersen, Smith, Kokmen, Ivnik, & Tangalos, 1992; Skolimowska, Wesierska, Lewandowska, Szymaszek, & Szelag, 2011; Sliwinski & Buschke, 1999). Computer expertise was not required to complete these tasks as responses were recorded via a touch screen (PAL) and a button box (SRT).…”

“…Following this, participants completed two assessment blocks of 50 trials each. As older age is associated with slowing of reaction times (Der & Deary, 2006; Dykiert et al., 2012; Woods, Wyma, Yund, Herron, & Reed, 2015), the outcome measure used to assess performance on this task was mean reaction time (RT).…”

Does within-person variability predict errors in healthy adults aged 18–90?

“…Here, the extent to which attentional or executive processes are focused is reflected in RTs of differing duration with more consistent responding indicating greater focus. Across individuals, variability typically increases with age (Bielak, Cherbuin, Bunce, & Anstey, 2014;West et al, 2002), even when controlling for age-related slowing (Dykiert, Der, Starr, & Deary, 2012). Also, it has been proposed that RT variability is a behavioural marker of neurobiological disturbance (Hultsch et al, 2008) and consistent with this view, elevated variability has been shown to accompany neuropathology such as mild cognitive impairment or dementia (e.g., Duchek et al, 2009), Parkinson's disease (de Frias, Dixon, Fisher, & Camicioli, 2007), and traumatic brain injury (Stuss, Murphy, Binns, & Alexander, 2003).…”

Associations between reaction time measures and white matter hyperintensities in very old age

“…It is well established that ageing is accompanied by cognitive decline and slowing of processing speed (e.g., Salthouse, 2010). However, an accumulating body of research suggests older adults are also more variable than younger adults (e.g., Bielak, Cherbuin, Bunce, & Anstey, 2014), even when response speed is taken into account (Dykiert, Der, Starr, & Deary, 2012). One proposal holds that IIV is an early indicator of neurobiological disturbance (Hultsch, MacDonald, Hunter, Levy-Bencheton, & Strauss, 2000;Hultsch, Strauss, Hunter, & MacDonald, 2008).…”