Investigating sustained attention ability in the elderly by using two different approaches: Inhibiting ongoing behavior versus responding on rare occasions

Staub, Bérengère; Doignon-Camus, Nadège; Bacon, Élisabeth; Bonnefond, Anne

doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2013.12.003

Cited by 46 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…However, following the transition zone the results show a consistent increase in post error slowing of 3.5ms per year (95%CI: 3.2 to 3.7). This result suggests a gradual shift towards greater error monitoring across the lifespan above and beyond that explained by slower reaction times due to changes in central nervous functioning in older adults (Ratcliff, et al, 2001), and is consistent with previous self-reports by older participants of less mind wandering during task completion and greater intrinsic motivation to perform well on similar tasks (Staub, et al, 2014). Collectively, then, the mean reaction time, criterion, and post-error slowing measurements all show a monotonic trend across participants 15 years and older representing a strategic shift toward a slower, more cautious approach to the task that diverges significantly from the pattern observed in the d’ and reaction time variability measures.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Sustained Attention Across the Life Span in a Sample of 10,000

et al. 2015

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Normal and abnormal differences in sustained visual attention have long been of interest to scientists, educators, and clinicians. Still lacking, however, is a clear understanding of how sustained visual attention varies across the broad sweep of the human lifespan. Here, we fill this gap in two ways. First, powered by an unprecedentedly large, 10,430-person sample, we model age-related differences with substantially greater precision than prior efforts. Second, using the recently developed gradual-onset continuous performance test (gradCPT), we parse sustained attention performance over the lifespan into its ability and strategy components. We find that after age 15, the strategy and ability trajectories saliently diverge. Strategy becomes monotonically more conservative with age, whereas ability peaks in the early forties and is followed by a gradual decline in older adults. These observed lifespan trajectories for sustained attention are distinct from results of other lifespan studies focusing on fluid and crystallized intelligence.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Sustained Attention Across the Life Span in a Sample of 10,000

et al. 2015

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“…These results are in line with those of recent studies using shorter Go/No-Go sustained attention tasks showing that older adults were generally more accurate than their younger counterparts both overall and with time on task (Brache et al, 2010;Carriere et al, 2010;Jackson & Balota, 2012;McVay et al, 2013;Staub et al, 2014;but see McAvinue et al, 2012). Surprisingly, even though the instructions emphasized ac curacy over speed, older participants responded faster than younger subjects, and maintained their speed throughout the watch-keeping period, whereas young subjects became faster with time on task.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

The effects of aging on sustained attention ability: An ERP study.

Staub¹,

Doignon-Camus²,

Bacon³

et al. 2014

Psychology and Aging

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of aging on inhibitory processes and attentional resources in a long-lasting Go/No-Go sustained attention task using the event-related potential (ERP) technique. In line with recent studies, our results showed that older adults were able to maintain sustained attention performance throughout the duration of the task, whereas younger subjects exhibited a vigilance decrement. Regarding ERP results, older adults had larger P2 and Go-P3 amplitudes, components related to resource allocation, suggesting that the older subjects invested more resources in task performance. In addition, the No-Go P3 component, related to inhibitory processes, was more frontally distributed in older than in younger participants. This age-related frontal scalp overrecruitment may have played a compensatory role, enabling older subjects to perform better than younger subjects throughout the duration of the task.

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“…Because young and older adults may differ in this ability, self-caught designs have rarely been used in the aging and MW literature, and when they have, self-caught methods have been combined with probe-caught methods (Giambra, 1989; Jackson & Balota, 2012; Jackson et al, 2013). Finally, a third method that has been used in the MW and aging literature involves retrospective questionnaires that ask subjects to report the frequency with which they experienced certain thoughts following the completion of an experimental task (Lachman & Agrigoroaei, 2012; Maillet & Rajah, 2013; Staub et al, 2014). The main advantage of using retrospective questionnaires is that doing so leaves performance of the task undisturbed.…”

Section: Mind-wanderingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, interest in the general topic of spontaneous cognition has increased rapidly during recent years in both psychology and neuroscience (e.g., Andrews-Hanna et al, 2010; Christoff et al, 2011; O'Callaghan et al, 2015; Smallwood & Schooler, 2015), and the trend seems likely to continue. Second, the emergence of studies on MW in older adults during the past few years (e.g., Jackson & Balota, 2012; Krawietz et al, 2012; Maillet & Rajah, 2013; Nagamatsu et al, 2013; Staub et al, 2014) suggests an increasing focus on spontaneous cognition among cognitive aging researchers. Third, although studies of different spontaneous thought types are typically pursued independently of one another, we think that it is useful to consider them together in order to encourage questions and future investigations about similarities and differences among these processes as a function of aging.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From mind wandering to involuntary retrieval: Age-related differences in spontaneous cognitive processes

2016

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The majority of studies that have investigated the effects of healthy aging on cognition have focused on age-related differences in voluntary and deliberately engaged cognitive processes. Yet many forms of cognition occur spontaneously, without any deliberate attempt at engaging them. In this article we review studies that have assessed age-related differences in four such types of spontaneous thought processes: mind-wandering, involuntary autobiographical memory, intrusive thoughts, and spontaneous prospective memory retrieval. These studies suggest that older adults exhibit a reduction in frequency of both mind-wandering and involuntary autobiographical memory, whereas findings regarding intrusive thoughts have been more mixed. Additionally, there is some preliminary evidence that spontaneous prospective memory retrieval may be relatively preserved in aging. We consider the roles of age-related differences in cognitive resources, motivation, current concerns and emotional regulation in accounting for these findings. We also consider age-related differences in the neural correlates of spontaneous cognitive processes.

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Investigating sustained attention ability in the elderly by using two different approaches: Inhibiting ongoing behavior versus responding on rare occasions

Cited by 46 publications

References 60 publications

Sustained Attention Across the Life Span in a Sample of 10,000

Sustained Attention Across the Life Span in a Sample of 10,000

The effects of aging on sustained attention ability: An ERP study.

From mind wandering to involuntary retrieval: Age-related differences in spontaneous cognitive processes

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