Age-related changes in saccade behavior

Some studies have highlighted the impact of age on the saccade properties. This study aimed to investigate whether prosaccade and antisaccade metrics vary with age. The participant groups included 49 young adults, 25 middle-aged adults, and 31 older adults. Participants were instructed to look at the stimulus in the prosaccade task and to look in the opposite direction for 1000 milliseconds (ms) in the antisaccade task. Both prosaccade and antisaccade latencies were prolonged in older and middle-aged adults compared to younger adults. The rates of correct antisaccades were lower in older and middle-aged adults than in younger adults and lower in older adults than in middle-aged adults. Regression analyses showed that prosaccade latencies increased by more than 1 ms per year, and antisaccade latencies increased by more than 2 ms per year. These findings suggest a linear association between age and saccade latency throughout adulthood. In addition, antisaccade measures, particularly correct antisaccade rates, appeared to be more sensitive to age-related differences in oculomotor and inhibitory control than prosaccade measures were.