Achromatic visual backward masking of colored stimuli as a function of age differences

To test the hypothesis that accelerated aging factors may be responsible for previous findings of reduced performance by diabetics in a visual backward-masking task with colored stimuli, we compared masking performances of observers from three age cohorts (20-, 40-, and 60-yr.-olds). Since masking performance declined in a very similar fashion for all colors with age, it was concluded that the differential color-performance decrements associated with diabetes cannot be attributed to visual processes associated with normal aging. The application of the Lagged Accrual Model showed that sensory transmission time increases and asymptotic performance decreases as a function of age. Suggestions for the normative use of the present data and for further research are discussed.