Interference and attentional switching in aging

Area of Science:

• Cognitive psychology
• Neuroscience
• Gerontology

Background:

• Older adults are often slower on cognitive tasks.
• Diffusion decision modeling (DDM) has explained slowing by processing time, caution, and sensorimotor factors.
• Interference processing in older adults is not fully understood within DDM.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate interference processing and aging using DDM.
• To compare single-task and dual-task performance to understand attentional control.
• To explore the neurocognitive mechanisms behind age-related slowing.

Main Methods:

• Used a choice response time task with and without interference.
• Applied the EZ-diffusion model to data from 117 younger and older adults.
• Analyzed attentional switching in single and dual-task conditions.

Main Results:

• Longer nondecision time was the primary cause of slower reaction times (RTs) in older adults.
• This effect was more pronounced during dual-task attentional switching.
• Interference processing before attention switching significantly impacted older adults' RTs.

Conclusions:

• Interference processing, not caution for error minimization, drives slower RTs in older adults.
• Findings support neurocognitive and inhibition deficit explanations for age-related slowing.
• Difficulties inhibiting interference and its impact on cognitive processes warrant further DDM investigation in aging.