Ageing and attentional control

The research examines the structural bottleneck account and the resource account of the substantial dual-task deficits among older adults. Procedures from two common dual-task methodologies-the psychological refractory period and the relative-priority manipulation-were used to encourage maximization of the joint performance. Performance and time-sharing strategies from subjects between the ages of 20 and 70 years were examined. Age-related declines in time-sharing efficiency and in the precision of the executive control process were observed. The age-related effect was larger when two manual responses were required than when one manual and one vocal response were required, but no evidence for obligatory sequential processing was found. Except for the most demanding conditions, comparable practice effects were observed between the younger and older subjects, suggesting considerable cognitive plasticity in the older subjects. Implications for the two attentional accounts were discussed.