Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition最新文献

Separate domains of research have previously shown that word retrieval performance is reduced with increased anxiety, and that increased mindfulness is associated with reduced anxiety. Adult aging has been shown to affect word retrieval, mindfulness, and anxiety, but the inter-relationships among these variables have not been previously tested. The present research examined whether individual differences in dispositional mindfulness and anxiety relate to word retrieval performance across adulthood. Participants (N = 207) ages 20-78 completed an online definition-naming task along with several self-report measures related to mindfulness and anxiety. Increased age was positively related to increased production of correct responses and to increased dispositional mindfulness, and negatively related to state anxiety, trait anxiety, and anxiety specifically related to communication. For the entire sample, measures related to mindfulness and anxiety were intercorrelated in the expected ways. We divided participants into groups of young, middle-aged, and older adults, and found that anxiety and mindfulness scores were only associated with correct word retrieval in older adults; there were no relationships in young or middle-aged participants. The primary conclusion is that dispositional mindfulness can attenuate the negative effects of state anxiety on word retrieval performance, but only for older adults. Study results contribute important empirical, theoretical, and practical information regarding mindfulness, anxiety, word retrieval, and aging.

Working memory (WM), the capacity to temporarily hold and manipulate information, is evaluated using the span paradigm, which consists of forward and backward recall tasks to assess storage and manipulation, respectively. In accordance with the dedifferentiation theory, which suggests that different cognitive abilities compensate for the decline of others during the aging process, the current study aimed to examine whether fluid intelligence mediates the relationship between forward and backward recall across verbal, visuospatial, and tactile modalities while including age as a moderator. A total of 106 healthy older adults aged 60-89 years underwent the Digit Span, Visuospatial Span, Tactual Span, and Raven Colored Progressive Matrices Test. We found positive correlations between forward and backward recall in all three span tasks. Additionally, the tactile and visuospatial moderated mediation models were significant, whereas the tactile model seemed more robust. However, the verbal model was found to be non-significant. These findings suggest that storage and manipulation are associated across different modalities, but fluid intelligence becomes a more significant factor as age progresses, thus compensating for WM decline. Nevertheless, this pattern varies between modalities, indicating a WM modality-specific differentiation dependent on the cognitive load. Our findings have implications for understanding cognitive aging processes and theoretical frameworks concerning WM.

This study evaluated whether the Everyday Memory and Metacognitive Intervention (EMMI) improved everyday memory functioning and subjective memory among older adults. The EMMI uses a metacognitive approach to link awareness of situational cognitive demands to the selection and use of strategies to bypass cognitive constraints and to successfully achieve everyday goals. The randomized controlled trial randomly assigned participants to the EMMI group or an active control group trained in mnemonic strategies for word list memorization. We used an event-based ecological momentary assessment smartphone application to assess self-reported everyday memory failures during everyday life. We also evaluated group differences in pretest to posttest change on objective and subjective measures of memory. An intent-to-treat analysis of the 78 persons randomly assigned to conditions revealed no difference in measures assessed prior to the intervention. The final sample consisted of 30 EMMI participants (M_age = 75.83, SD = 4.68) and 32 control group participants (M_age = 74.94, SD = 4.38). There were no differences between the groups on everyday memory failures and prospective memory. Both groups showed significant increases in aspects of subjective memory ability from pretest to posttest, with the EMMI group producing greater improvements in memory self-efficacy. The control group differentially improved in associative memory after memory-strategy training. Although EMMI did not show the predicted everyday memory improvements, it still has potential to improve people's everyday functioning by way of improving subjective experiences. Post-pandemic enhancements to the intervention could lead to demonstrable everyday memory successes.

Older adults often exhibit a higher susceptibility to false memories compared to younger adults, partly due to age-related declines in executive functions. Mullet and Marsh (2016) demonstrated that false memory errors in younger adults, elicited through sentences with pragmatic implications, can be corrected when errors are noticed and replaced after corrective feedback. However, the effect of feedback on the correction of false memories has not yet been tested in older adults, a key question given the increased vulnerability of older adults to memory errors. To address this, we conducted two experiments comparing younger and older participants using two feedback types: simply providing the correct answer or providing the correct answer with a follow-up question prompting revision of previous responses. In Experiment 1, participants underwent pre- and post-feedback memory tests (as in Mullet & Marsh, 2016), with an additional study-recall cycle for new, non-studied material (transfer test). Experiment 2 investigated this further by adding an additional study-retrieval phase, including pre- and post-feedback tests, in order to increase training in retrieval practice and metacognitive strategies. Results indicated that both age groups improved correct recall and reduced memory errors, with older adults benefiting most from repeated practice and feedback, demonstrating a transfer of learning strategies to new material. We highlight the role of engaging in effortful memory strategies to promote better learning during adulthood and aging.

The Visual Short-Term Memory Binding Task (VSTMBT) assesses the cognitive ability responsible for integrating and retaining objects' features on a temporary basis. The VSTMBT, combined with eye-tracking (ET), identified impairments in older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) who developed AD dementia 3 years after their baseline assessment. This study investigated whether age impacts oculomotor behaviors linked to the VSTMBT. We assessed a group of healthy young adults (18-25 years old) and a group of healthy older adults (60-83 years old) with the VSTMBT synchronized with ET. The VSTMBT required participants to detect changes across two consecutive arrays of either two or three bicolored objects. They were asked to remember the object's colors either separately (Unbound Colors Condition, UC) or combined (Bound Colors Condition, BC). We collected behavioral responses, fixation duration, saccade amplitude, and pupil dilation. Older adults remembered fewer objects but that was similar in the UC and BC conditions. Both age groups showed decreased saccade amplitudes and longer fixation duration in the BC condition, with no differential impact of age. Pupil dilation was lower in older adults, but such a behavior was equivalent across the UC and BC conditions. These null findings were confirmed by Bayesian analysis. These results suggest that binding functions and their associated oculomotor behaviors are resilient to age-related cognitive decline, highlighting the relevance of evaluating oculomotor measurements during the VSTMBT to detect the transition from normal to abnormal variants of aging earlier and more accurately.

Cognitive reserve (CR) and its measurement by proxies have gained interest in cognitive aging research. While CR proxies seem valuable for predicting cognitive function, their measures are often conflated with age effects. The current study aims to address this by introducing an age-invariant approach of CR. We included 380 participants (age = 18-79) from the Advanced Brain Imaging on aging and Memory (ABRIM) study who completed the Cognitive Reserve Index questionnaire (CRIq), a measure to estimate verbal IQ, and several neuropsychological tasks in the domains of memory, executive function and attention/speed. With various regression models and structural equation modeling, we assessed age effects on the CRIq subscales and their predictive value on cognitive function. Results showed a significant non-linear age effect on the Education and Occupation subscale of the CRIq and a linear age effect on the Leisure subscale. New age-corrections derived from these effects were more accurate than age-corrections from the original norm scores. Moreover, the three cognitive domains were significantly predicted in the expected direction by the new age-corrected CRIq scores, and not by the raw scores or original age-corrected scores. However, compared to verbal IQ, the predictive value of these CRIq scores was still low. Associations between the CRIq and cognitive function seemed to vary across the lifespan, but were not consistently stronger for older adults. These findings illustrate the importance of age adjustments in CR research. Most importantly, appropriate age-adjustments may be sample specific and non-linear effects to properly correct for age must be considered.

Theory of mind is a core social cognitive ability, and declines over the lifespan. Prior work examining the mechanisms underlying older adults' theory of mind deficits has yielded heterogenous results. One reason for this might be a general reliance on static, rather than dynamic, stimuli. Because dynamic measures may best capture everyday theory of mind engagement, the current study examined whether executive function and/or episodic memory - the primary mechanisms examined in prior work - predicted older adults' static and dynamic theory of mind performance. In Study 1, 153 older adults completed traditional static measures of theory of mind (false belief task, Reading the Mind in the Eyes) and a dynamic theory of mind measure that captured multiple domains of theory of mind (e.g. inferring beliefs, understanding emotions). They also completed comprehensive measures of executive function and episodic memory. Episodic memory, but not executive function, predicted theory of mind performance across tasks. In Study 2, 124 different older adults completed two novel dynamic tasks, and the same cognitive measures from Study 1. The first dynamic task was similar to the Study 1, but was relatively unfamiliar. In the second task, older adults made continuous (e.g. dynamic) awkwardness ratings while watching a video. This task reduces ceiling effects, a frequent limitation of theory of mind research. Replicating the results in Study 1, episodic memory, but not executive function, predicted older adults' performance on both tasks. Together, these findings suggest that episodic memory ability predicts older adults' static and dynamic theory of mind performance.

With the global aging population, an increasing number of researchers are interested in the intertemporal choice issues faced by older adults. Previous studies have examined how age-related differences in time perception affect intertemporal choices. However, the impact of time perception strategy on intertemporal decision-making among older adults remains unclear. This study was designed to examine how timing perception strategy influence decision-making among older adults while also exploring the possible mechanisms. We manipulated timing perception strategy preferences through priming in two experiments (Experiment 1, n = 160; Experiment 2, n = 129). Both intertemporal decision-making tasks and matching tasks were used to validate the findings. The results indicated that younger adults tend to prefer external strategy, which is associated with a longer subjective time perception and a stronger inclination toward immediate rewards. In contrast, older adults were more likely to prefer internal strategy, which correlates with a shorter subjective time perception and a preference for delayed gratification. Moreover, subjective time perception played a fully mediating role in the impact of timing perception strategy on intertemporal decision-making, with age moderating the influence of these strategies on subjective time perception. These findings suggest that the influence of timing perception strategy on intertemporal decision-making may be mediated by subjective time perception and that differences in strategy preferences could help explain age-related difference in decision-making preferences. This study provides a novel perspective on the mechanisms behind age-related differences in intertemporal decision-making by revealing how cognitive and time perception uniquely shape decision-making processes in older adults.

Greater neighborhood disadvantage is associated with poorer global cognition. However, less is known about the variation in the magnitude of neighborhood effects across individual cognitive domains and whether the strength of these associations differs by individual-level factors. The current study investigated these questions in a community sample of older adults (N = 166, mean age = 72.5 years, 51% women), who reported current addresses, linked to state-level Area Deprivation Index rankings, and completed remote and validated neuropsychological tests of verbal intelligence (North American Adult Reading Test), verbal fluency (Controlled Oral Word Association Test), attention (Digit Span Forward), and working memory (Digit Span Backward and Sequencing, Letter-Number Sequencing). Linear regressions tested associations between neighborhood disadvantage and each cognitive test, controlling for individual-level factors (age, sex, education). Exploratory analyses tested moderation by each individual-level factor. Independent of individual-level factors, greater neighborhood disadvantage was associated with lower cognitive performance across domains: verbal intelligence (β = 0.30, p < .001), verbal fluency (β = -0.19, p = .014), attention (β = -0.19, p = .024), and two of three tests of working memory (β = -0.17- -0.22, ps = .004-.039). Results were robust to correction for multiple comparisons and tests of spatial autocorrelation. In addition, higher neighborhood disadvantage was associated with lower verbal fluency for older - but not younger-older adults (p = .035) and with poorer working memory in women but not men (p < .001). Education did not moderate associations. Findings suggest that older adults living in more disadvantaged neighborhoods exhibit lower cognitive performance, particularly in the domain of verbal intelligence. Continued investigation of effect modification may be fruitful for uncovering for whom associations are strongest.

Research on working memory (WM) training reveals significant variability in training effects, indicating that pretraining cognitive abilities might account for these differences. However, consensus on whether higher (magnification account) or lower (compensation account) pretraining abilities predict greater training effects remains elusive. Our study aimed to clarify the role of fluid reasoning in predicting training performance (i.e. training scores at each session) and gains on near transfer WM tasks. We conducted two studies: Study 1 focused on middle-aged adults (47-65 years) and Study 2 on older adults (65-83 years). Participants in both studies were randomly assigned to either adaptive n-back training or an active control group and have all completed three WM tasks before and after 20 training sessions - the trained n-back task and two structurally different untrained tasks. Generally, greater average training scores were found in individuals with higher fluid reasoning for both age groups, although this trend did not reach statistical significance in older adults. Similarly, higher fluid reasoning predicted greater training gains only in the sample of middle-aged adults. Further analysis showed that both, middle-aged and older participants in the training groups exhibited higher gains on the trained n-back task but not on two other WM tasks. Additionally, fluid reasoning predicted n-back gains in both the training and control group. Consistent with a growing body of research, our results show limited generalization of training effects across untrained tasks. It seems that factors beyond pretraining ability should be considered when explaining between-participant differences in training performance.