Aging and the role of working memory resources in visuospatial attention.

Full Abstract

Visuospatial attention has been shown to be robust to the effects of increasing age. Nonetheless, models linking individual differences in working memory capacity to attentional performance suggest that older adults may experience disruptions in visuospatial attention under conditions of resource load. Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of age and concurrent working memory load on two tasks that have been proposed to require posterior attentional processes. The findings suggest that loading working memory resources selectively disrupts performance on a nonintegrated Stroop task, whereas cue utilization remains intact. In addition, imposing a working memory load delays the deployment of visuospatial attention in both experiments. Regarding the effects of age, findings suggest that older adults can effectively perform both attentional tasks despite working memory load. Age differences did emerge in the time course of cue utilization. Findings point to the resilience of visuospatial attention in aging, even under conditions of significant cognitive load. We discuss these results and their implications for models postulating a role for working memory capacity in attentional behaviors.

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Author information

Author/s: Thornton, W J L (WJ); Raz, N (N);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC. wthornto(-atsign-)sfu.ca

Grants: R01-AG-11230 (Agency:NIA NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Neuropsychology, development, and cognition. Section B, Aging, neuropsychology and cognition (Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Mar; vol 13 (issue 1) : pp 36-61

Dates: Created 2006/06/12; Completed 2006/07/26; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 16766342, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging - physiology
Attention - physiology
Female
Humans

Male
Memory, Short-Term - physiology
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests - statistics & numerical data
Reaction Time - physiology
Reproducibility of Results
Space Perception - physiology
Time Factors

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