scholarly journals Slower gait, slower information processing and smaller prefrontal area in older adults

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Rosano ◽  
S. A. Studenski ◽  
H. J. Aizenstein ◽  
R. M. Boudreau ◽  
W. T. Longstreth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Prefrontal Area

Quantitative information processing of nutrition facts panels

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (7) ◽  
pp. 1205-1219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa M. Soederberg Miller
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Nutrition Information ◽  
Nutrition Labels ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Daily Diet

Purpose – Quantitative information on nutrition labels (nutrition facts panels (NFPs)) is often conveyed in the form of absolute weights (i.e. milligrams or grams) and reference values (i.e. per cent daily values (%DVs)) which provide information regarding nutrient levels within the context of a total daily diet. Some evidence suggests that %DVs are preferred over the weights and may be better at communicating nutrition information. However, age differences are often neglected in past work, thus limiting the understanding how effectively NFPs communicate quantitative information across adulthood. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Using eye tracking methodology, the present study examined age and preference differences in attention to weights and %DVs on NFPs during two healthfulness judgement tasks. The extent to which attention predicted judgement accuracy was explored and findings were compared to two additional predictors, prior knowledge and NFP numeracy skills. Findings – Although individuals paid attention to both types of quantitative information, attention to %DVs, but not weights, predicted accuracy, on both tasks. For older adults only, preferences for %DVs were related to %DV attention, and this in turn supported accuracy on the single-NFP task. Originality/value – These data show that %DVs are important for healthfulness judgements across age but that preferences for %DVs, together with attention to %DVs, are particularly important for older adults.

scholarly journals The Dissociation between Early and Late Selection in Older Adults

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (12) ◽  
pp. 2189-2206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany R. Alperin ◽  
Anna E. Haring ◽  
Tatyana Y. Zhuravleva ◽  
Phillip J. Holcomb ◽  
Dorene M. Rentz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Neuropsychological Test ◽  
Early Selection ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Different Color ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Late Selection

Older adults exhibit a reduced ability to ignore task-irrelevant stimuli; however, it remains to be determined where along the information processing stream the most salient age-associated changes occur. In the current study, ERPs provided an opportunity to determine whether age-related differences in processing task-irrelevant stimuli were uniform across information processing stages or disproportionately affected either early or late selection. ERPs were measured in young and old adults during a color-selective attention task in which participants responded to target letters in a specified color (attend condition) while ignoring letters in a different color (ignore condition). Old participants were matched to two groups of young participants on the basis of neuropsychological test performance: one using age-appropriate norms and the other using test scores not adjusted for age. There were no age-associated differences in the magnitude of early selection (attend–ignore), as indexed by the size of the anterior selection positivity and posterior selection negativity. During late selection, as indexed by P3b amplitude, both groups of young participants generated neural responses to target letters under the attend versus ignore conditions that were highly differentiated. In striking contrast, old participants generated a P3b to target letters with no reliable differences between conditions. Individuals who were slow to initiate early selection appeared to be less successful at executing late selection. Despite relative preservation of the operations of early selection, processing delays may lead older participants to allocate excessive resources to task-irrelevant stimuli during late selection.

The Effects of Activity Levels on Controlled Information Processing in Older Adults

1989 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 77-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darryl A Crabtree ◽  
Laura R Antrim ◽  
Rita Klenke
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Activity Levels

scholarly journals The forest, the trees, and the leaves across adulthood: Age-related changes on a visual search task containing three-level hierarchical stimuli

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Bouhassoun ◽  
Nicolas Poirel ◽  
Noah Hamlin ◽  
Gaelle E. Doucet
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Visual Search ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Search Task ◽  
Visual Search Task ◽  
Local Processing ◽  
Global Precedence ◽  
Hierarchical Stimuli

AbstractSelecting relevant visual information in complex scenes by processing either global information or local parts helps us act efficiently within our environment and achieve goals. A global advantage (faster global than local processing) and global interference (global processing interferes with local processing) comprise an evidentiary global precedence phenomenon in early adulthood. However, the impact of healthy aging on this phenomenon remains unclear. As such, we collected behavioral data during a visual search task, including three-levels hierarchical stimuli (i.e., global, intermediate, and local levels) with several hierarchical distractors, in 50 healthy adults (26 younger (mean age: 26 years) and 24 older (mean age: 62 years)). Results revealed that processing information presented at the global and intermediate levels was independent of age. Conversely, older adults were slower for local processing compared to the younger adults, suggesting lower efficiency to deal with visual distractors during detail-oriented visual search. Although healthy older adults continued exhibiting a global precedence phenomenon, they were disproportionately less efficient during local aspects of information processing, especially when multiple visual information was displayed. Our results could have important implications for many life situations by suggesting that visual information processing is impacted by healthy aging, even with similar visual stimuli objectively presented.

scholarly journals Information processing speed as a mediator between psychosocial stress and global cognition in older adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui F. Foong ◽  
Tengku A. Hamid ◽  
Rahimah Ibrahim ◽  
Sharifah A. Haron
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Global Cognition

scholarly journals Swimming as a Positive Moderator of Cognitive Aging: A Cross-Sectional Study with a Multitask Approach

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amira Abou-Dest ◽  
Cédric T. Albinet ◽  
Geoffroy Boucard ◽  
Michel Audiffren
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Potential Benefits

This study examined whether regular swimming in older adults was related to better cognitive functioning and whether there were any global or selective positive effects of this physical activity (PA) on cognition. The cognitive performances of three groups of sixteen volunteer participants (young adults, sedentary older adults, and older adults who regularly practice swimming) were evaluated using a multitask approach. All participants performed a battery of ten tasks: two reaction time tasks assessing information processing speed and eight experimental tasks assessing three executive functions (EFs), (behavioral inhibition, working memory updating, and cognitive flexibility). The results showed that young adults performed significantly better than older adults on all examined cognitive functions. However, in older adults, regular swimming was related to better performance on the three EFs, but not on information processing speed. More precisely, five experimental tasks out of the eight tapping EFs were shown to be sensitive to positive effects from swimming practice. Finally, the demonstrated benefits of swimming on EFs were not necessarily linked to better cardiorespiratory fitness. The present findings illustrate the validity of using a multitask approach in examining the potential benefits of regular PA on cognitive aging.

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