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Inhibitory control across the life span.

S E Christ1, D A White, T Mandernach

  • 1Department of Psychology, Washington University, St Louis, MO 63130, USA.

Developmental Neuropsychology
|May 11, 2002
PubMed
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This study examined inhibitory control across the lifespan. Findings show this cognitive function is less efficient in older adults, beyond processing speed differences.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Inhibitory control, the ability to suppress prepotent responses, is known to improve in childhood and decline in late adulthood.
  • Few studies have comprehensively examined lifespan changes in inhibitory control within a single research design.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate lifespan changes in a specific type of inhibitory control: the ability to inhibit a prepotent response and generate an incompatible one.
  • To determine if processing speed adequately explains age-related differences in inhibitory control across the lifespan.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed inhibitory control in participants aged 6 to 82 years.
  • Analyzed raw reaction time data and applied proportional and z-score transformations to evaluate performance differences.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Compared performance across developmental periods: childhood, young adulthood, and older adulthood.

    • Main Results:

    • Children and older adults exhibited a significantly larger inhibitory control effect compared to young adults.
    • Processing speed fully accounted for performance differences between children and young adults.
    • Processing speed did not fully explain the performance discrepancy between young and older adults, suggesting other factors impact older adults' inhibitory control.

    Conclusions:

    • Inhibitory control develops early in life and declines in later adulthood.
    • Beyond processing speed limitations, inhibitory control appears to be less efficient in older adults.
    • These findings support a lifespan perspective on cognitive development and decline in executive functions.