This lecture contains all the information from the third lecture of the course Neuropsychology of Ageing at the VU. The summary is supplemented with pictures from the slides and extensive notes from the professor.
HC3: Executive functions and speed
(still normal ageing!)
What are executive functions (EF)? There is no single definition or standard tests for EF.
The general agreement is: EF refers to the control of thought and regulation of behavior
EF are multifaceted control processes that regulate thought and behavior
Multiple processes for control and regulation
Resistance to interference, inhibitory control, or inhibition
Cognitive flexibility, task switching, or task shifting
Monitoring, updating, or memory updating
Variety of tests attempt to assess EF processes, so you can immediately recognize the EF
involved.
Age effect inhibition: each of these functions are
affected by ageing.
Stroop: increase incongruent color-words RTs
with ageing: less efficient inhibition. Relatively
little effect age on word and color conditions
Hayling’s sentence completion: The captain
decided to stay with the sinking…? The task is
to inhibit the most likely response.
o Young adults (M=21) > young old
(M=68) = old (M=79)
Age effect task switching
TMT – Trials B
o Young adults = young old = old old
Number – Letter task
o Young adults > young old = old old
Working memory task age effect working memory
CANTAB spatial working memory test
o Open box by touching screen
o Collect blue tokens hidden in boxes
o Token never hidden in same box twice (keep spatial
positions in WM). You have to remember where you
have previously been.
o With increasing age, more errors (open box where
token had already been found)
Reading span
o Remember last word of 6 sentences read aloud
o Young adult > young old > old old
, Meta-analysis executive function and ageing studies
Poorer performance older adults on wide range EF tasks
= Larger difference young-old on EF
conditions than on control conditions
All in all, there is plenty of evidence that
different EF processes are affected by
ageing
Longitudinal studies:
Follow-up Baltimore Longitudinal Study of
Ageing
o 148 participants, 56-86 years at first
assessment, follow-up for up to 14 years
o Each line is a participant. The left line is
the starting age. And the end point is the
last time they were assessed
o Manipulation (WM): digit span
backward. Little variation, deterioration
with age.
o For all the participants, performance
goes down = poorer performance over
time
Decline EF with age, but inter-individual variation!!! It doesn’t affect all individuals to the
same extent
EF important for everyday activities and daily functioning
E.g., instrumental activities of daily living (IADL): dealing with money, arrange
transport, household tasks like cooking.
Trails B predicted informant rated IADL
Neuropsychological EF tasks explained 19-23% measures daily functioning
EF would be particularly susceptible to the effect of ageing
EF impairment may underlie impairments other cognitive tasks = central deficit.
Role EF in cognitive ageing:
Inhibitory deficits theory
o Core deficits ageing: difficulties to inhibit irrelevant information or to control
interference
o Inhibition deficit affects other functions, in particular working memory
(irrelevant information would creep in and affect working memory)
irrelevant material enters WM
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