Age-related decline in cognitive control: the role of fluid intelligence and processing speed

Abstract

BackgroundResearch on cognitive control suggests an age-related decline in proactive control abilities whereas reactive control seems to remain intact. However, the reason of the differential age effect on cognitive control efficiency is still unclear. This study investigated the potential influence of fluid intelligence and processing speed on the selective age-related decline in proactive control. Eighty young and 80 healthy older adults were included in this study. The participants were submitted to a working memory recognition paradigm, assessing proactive and reactive cognitive control by manipulating the interference level across items.ResultsRepeated measures ANOVAs and hierarchical linear regressions indicated that the ability to appropriately use cognitive control processes during aging seems to be at least partially affected by the amount of available cognitive resources (assessed by fluid intelligence and processing speed abilities).ConclusionsThis study highlights the potential role of cognitive resources on the selective age-related decline in proactive control, suggesting the importance of a more exhaustive approach considering the confounding variables during cognitive control assessment.

Do attentional capacities and processing speed mediate the effect of age on executive functioning?

“…Likewise, and as it could have been expected from several previous studies (Albinet et al, 2012;Cona et al, 2013;Manard et al, 2014;Salthouse, 1992;Salthouse, 1993;Salthouse, 1994a;Salthouse, 1994b;Salthouse, 1996;Salthouse & Babcock, 1991;Salthouse & Meinz, 1995;Salthouse, 2000;Salthouse et al, 2000), all processing speed variables were predicted by age. Salthouse proposed that perceptual speed is more involved in the relationship between age and cognition than motor speed (Salthouse, 1993;Salthouse, 1994b).…”

“…Indeed, with advancing age, some changes are also reported in non-executive processes that could influence executive functioning efficiency. Furthermore, there is a general agreement that processing speed decreases with age (Albinet, Boucart, Bouquet, & Auddifren, 2012;Cona et al, 2013;Manard, Carabin, Jaspar, & Collette, 2014;Salthouse, 1992;Salthouse, 1993;Salthouse, 1994a, Salthouse, 1994bSalthouse, 1996;Salthouse & Babcock, 1991;Salthouse & Meinz, 1995;Salthouse, 2000;Salthouse et al, 2000).…”

The effects of long-term stress exposure on aging cognition: a behavioral and EEG investigation

“…WM is thought of as the brain's capacity to store and manipulate information necessary for successful performance in a given situation (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974) and has received large amounts of interest in the general aging and EEG literature. As such, a number of studies have demonstrated that the amount of items held in WM declines with advancing age (Salthouse and Babcock, 1991), whereas numerous EEG studies have reported age-related reductions of theta, alpha, and gamma activity during WM task engagement (Karrasch et al, 2004;Manard et al, 2014;van de Vijver et al, 2014).…”

The Effect of Aging on the Dynamics of Reactive and Proactive Cognitive Control of Response Interference

“…There are some situations in which one or the other type of control would be most appropriate, depending on factors such as individual characteristics and task situation. Given that older adults have limited processing resources (Craik and Byrd, 1982; Manard et al, 2014), it may be difficult for them to process the cue proactively and maintain the cue information over the delay in the AX-CPT task (Braver et al, 2001). Thus, older adults prefer to rely predominantly on reactive control mechanisms in the AX-CPT task, as they do not require sustained control over extensive time periods.…”