Modulation of distraction in ageing

Authors: Ryan, Jennifer D.¹; Shen, Jiye²; Reingold, Eyal M.²

Source: British Journal of Psychology, Volume 97, Number 3, August 2006 , pp. 339-351(13)

Publisher: British Psychological Society

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Abstract:

A cueing paradigm was employed to examine modulation of distraction due to a visual singleton. Subjects were required to make a saccade to a shape-singleton target. A predictive location cue indicated the hemifield where a target would appear. Older adults made more anticipatory saccades than younger adults, and were less accurate for making an eye movement in the vicinity of a target. However, younger and older adults likewise benefited from the cue; distraction was reduced when the distractor singleton appeared in an uncued hemisphere. The ability to compensate for problems with distraction in older and younger adults through use of the precue suggests that attention to a general region of space, rather than a specific location, may be enough to modulate distraction.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1348/000712605X74837

Affiliations: 1: The Rotman Research Institute, Canada; The University of Toronto, Canada 2: The University of Toronto, Canada

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