The Effects of Aging and Time of Day on Inhibitory Control: An Event-Related Potential Study

Abstract

Time of day (TOD) influences on executive functions have been widely reported, with greater efficiency demonstrated at optimal relative to non-optimal TOD according to one’s chronotype (i.e., synchrony effect). Older adults (OAs) show declines in inhibitory control and are more sensitive to the effects of circadian variation on executive functioning. To date, no studies have investigated the effects of TOD and aging on executive functioning using electrophysiological measures. The present study investigated the effects of aging and TOD on the neural correlates of inhibitory processing (N2 and P3) using event-related potentials (ERPs). Go-NoGo and Flanker tasks were administered to 52 OAs of morning chronotype and 51 younger adults (YAs) of afternoon-to-evening chronotype who were randomly assigned to morning or afternoon test sessions, with the optimal TOD for OAs in the morning and for YAs in the afternoon/evening. While behavioral results demonstrated no TOD effects, ERPs indicated synchrony effects. Both YAs and OAs showed greater modulation of Go-NoGo N2 and greater P3 amplitude during the non-optimal than optimal TOD, consistent with the synchrony effect. For the Flanker task, age differences in P3 amplitude were only apparent during the non-optimal TOD. These results suggest that processes associated with inhibitory control are differentially affected by TOD and aging, with age-related reductions in inhibitory efficiency during off-peak test times on measures of interference control. These findings highlight the sensitivity of ERPs to detect TOD effects in the absence of behavioral differences, confirm more pronounced TOD effects in OAs relative to YAs on ERP measures of interference control, and reinforce the need to assess and control for circadian typology in research studies.

For Whom (and When) the Time Bell Tolls: Chronotypes and the Synchrony Effect

“…Studies examining synchrony effects on aspects of attention demonstrate better performance at synchronous times relative to asynchronous times for three interrelated tasks: vigilance, working memory, and control over distraction. Several studies with young adult participants have shown that motor learning and vigilance or sustained attention (measured with the flanker task and the sustained attention to response task) are better at peak than at off-peak times of day and that attentional performance is associated with changes in cortical activity over the course of the day (e.g., Lara et al, 2014; Martínez-Pérez et al, 2020; Rabi et al, 2022; Salehinejad et al, 2021; but see Bennett et al, 2008). Individuals are also more successful in detecting and rejecting errors at synchronous times of day (e.g., Buela Casal et al, 1990; Horne et al, 1980), and their response times are faster for demanding or complex attentional tasks like the psychomotor vigilance task and cryptoarithmetic (Natale et al, 2003; Schmidt et al, 2012).…”

“…The few studies that have included older adults along with young adults as participants report synchrony effects for the ability to ignore distraction using fMRI (e.g., J. A. E. Anderson et al, 2014Anderson et al, , 2017 and for the ability to control strong motor responses using EEG/ERP (Rabi et al, 2022).…”

“…Attention, Working Memory, and Susceptibility to Distraction Studies examining synchrony effects on aspects of attention demonstrate better performance at synchronous relative to asynchronous times for three interrelated tasks: vigilance, working memory, and control over distraction. Several studies with young adult participants report that vigilance or sustained attention, measured with the flanker task, the sustained attention to response task, and motor learning, is better at peak than at off peak times of day, and that attentional performance is associated with changes in cortical activity over the day (e.g., Lara et al, 2014;Martínez-Pérez et al, 2020;Rabi et al, 2022;Salehinejad et al, 2021;but see Bennett et al, 2008).…”

“…Synchrony has also been seen when participants are given no particular task (the resting state; Orban et al, 2020, but see Farahani et al, 2021. The few studies which have included older adults along with young adults as participants report synchrony effects for the ability to ignore distraction using fMRI (e.g., Anderson et al, 2014; and for the ability to control strong motor responses using EEG/ERP (Rabi et al, 2022).…”

Functional Training and Dual-Task Training Improve the Executive Function of Older Women

“…Inhibitory control can prevent the allocation of focused attention on irrelevant or distracting information in internal or external environments, thus, allowing a person to keep focused on the task performed or relevant goal to be achieved [2]. Inhibitory control is essential for coping with the demands of daily life, such as avoiding distractions while walking or other daily activities [3]. Working memory constitutes the storage of information that will be manipulated and used to comprehend a task (e.g., listing, in order, a list of household objects or a market list for shopping) [4].…”