Interleaved Pro/Anti-saccade Behavior Across the Lifespan.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive neuroscience
• Lifespan psychology
• Neurodevelopmental and aging research

Background:

• Inhibitory control is a crucial cognitive function that changes dynamically across the lifespan.
• Understanding these changes is vital for differentiating healthy aging from neurological disease.
• The interleaved pro/anti-saccade task (IPAST) is a sensitive measure of inhibitory control circuitry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the lifespan trajectory of inhibitory control using IPAST data.
• To identify critical age periods for developmental and aging-related changes in saccade behavior.
• To explore potential neural mechanisms underlying these observed behavioral changes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from a large cross-sectional cohort (n=604, ages 5-93).
• Applied standardized pre-processing, generalized additive modeling, and change point analysis.
• Analyzed pro-saccade accuracy and anti-saccade errors at express and regular latencies, and voluntary override time.

Main Results:

• IPAST measures showed maturation throughout adolescence.
• A decline in inhibitory control began in the mid-20s and continued into old age.
• Analysis of different saccade types and latencies revealed distinct developmental and aging patterns.

Conclusions:

• The study presents "cognitive growth curves" for inhibitory control across the lifespan.
• Proposed frontal-parietal and frontal-striatal mechanisms may underlie observed behavioral changes.
• These findings have implications for early detection of neurological disorders during vulnerable developmental and aging periods.