EYE MOVEMENTS REVEAL AGE DIFFERENCES IN HOW AROUSAL MODULATES MECHANISMS OF ATTENTIONAL CONTROL
2024
Age Differences in Attention Control Under Arousal
publication
Author Information
Author(s): Kim Andy, Nguyen Kristine, Mather Mara
Primary Institution: University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
Hypothesis
Older adults exhibit dysfunction in the locus coeruleus-noradrenaline system affecting attentional control under arousal.
Conclusion
Older adults do not show increased attentional priority for salient stimuli under arousal, unlike young adults.
Supporting Evidence
- Young adults made more first saccades toward the salient distractor when under the threat of shock.
- Older adults did not exhibit changes in attentional priority for any stimuli under increased arousal.
- Arousal did not affect the speed of attention processing in both age groups.
- Proactive suppression of the distractor persisted despite elevated priority.
Takeaway
This study found that older people don't pay more attention to important things when they're scared, unlike younger people.
Methodology
Participants completed two oculomotor search tasks while their eye movements were observed.
Participant Demographics
Participants included both young and older adults.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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