Autor: G. Lucas, O. Noskin, K. Davis, J. DeLuca, R. Vlad, J. A. Richards, B. J. Diamond, D. Rosenthal
Rok vydání: 2000
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Journal of Rehabilitation and Health. 5:55-64
ISSN: 1068-9591
DOI: 10.1023/a:1012911203468
Popis: Younger adults generally perform better than older adults on memory tasks with reduced processing speed proposed as a mediating factor. However, processing speed often gets confounded with accuracy. To overcome this confound and quantify age-related changes in information processing speed, the current study used a specially developed computer program that held performance accuracy constant while measuring speed of processing. Twelve older (mean age = 77) and younger (mean age = 27) subjects participated in this study. Older subjects processed both visual (mean = 3860) and auditory (mean = 3400) information more slowly than did younger subjects (mean = 1680 and mean = 2070, respectively). No modality-specific differences in processing speed were present. Importantly, older subjects' mean accuracy levels were similar to that of younger subjects. These findings suggest that processing speed may be a critical determinant in working memory impairments in the elderly. However, individualized rates of information presentation could allow older subjects to perform as accurately as younger subjects.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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