Marshall, Amanda C and Cooper, Nicholas R and Geeraert, Nicolas (2016) Experienced stress produces inhibitory deficits in old adults’ Flanker task performance: First evidence for lifetime stress effects beyond memory. Biological Psychology, 113. pp. 1-11. DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.10.008
Marshall, Amanda C and Cooper, Nicholas R and Geeraert, Nicolas (2016) Experienced stress produces inhibitory deficits in old adults’ Flanker task performance: First evidence for lifetime stress effects beyond memory. Biological Psychology, 113. pp. 1-11. DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.10.008
Marshall, Amanda C and Cooper, Nicholas R and Geeraert, Nicolas (2016) Experienced stress produces inhibitory deficits in old adults’ Flanker task performance: First evidence for lifetime stress effects beyond memory. Biological Psychology, 113. pp. 1-11. DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.10.008
Abstract
Studies regarding aged individuals' performance on the Flanker task differ with respect to reporting impaired or intact executive control. Past work has explained this discrepancy by hypothesising that elderly individuals use increased top-down control mechanisms advantageous to Flanker performance. This study investigated this mechanism, focussing on cumulative experienced stress as a factor that may impact on its execution, thereby leading to impaired performance. Thirty elderly and thirty young participants completed a version of the Flanker task paired with electroencephalographic recordings of the alpha frequency, whose increased synchronisation indexes inhibitory processes. Among high stress elderly individuals, findings revealed a general slowing of reaction times for congruent and incongruent stimuli, which correlated with alpha desynchronisation for both stimulus categories. Results found high performing (low stress) elderly revealed neither a behavioural nor electrophysiological difference compared to young participants. Therefore, rather than impacting on top-down compensatory mechanisms, findings indicate that stress may affect elderly participants' inhibitory control in attentional and sensorimotor domains.
Item Type: | Article |
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Uncontrolled Keywords: | Ageing; EEG; Inhibition; Experienced stress; Flanker task |
Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology |
Divisions: | Faculty of Science and Health Faculty of Science and Health > Psychology, Department of |
SWORD Depositor: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Date Deposited: | 12 Nov 2015 16:03 |
Last Modified: | 30 Oct 2024 19:58 |
URI: | http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/15419 |
Available files
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