Effect of Age in Auditory Go/No-Go Tasks: A Magnetoencephalographic Study

Abstract

Response inhibition is frequently examined using visual go/no-go tasks. Recently, the auditory go/no-go paradigm has been also applied to several clinical and aging populations. However, age-related changes in the neural underpinnings of auditory go/no-go tasks are yet to be elucidated. We used magnetoencephalography combined with distributed source imaging methods to examine age-associated changes in neural responses to auditory no-go stimuli. Additionally, we compared the performance of high- and low-performing older adults to explore differences in cortical activation. Behavioral performance in terms of response inhibition was similar in younger and older adult groups. Relative to the younger adults, the older adults exhibited reduced cortical activation in the superior and middle temporal gyrus. However, we did not find any significant differences in cortical activation between the high- and low-performing older adults. Our results therefore support the hypothesis that inhibition is reduced during aging. The variation in cognitive performance among older adults confirms the need for further study on the underlying mechanisms of inhibition.

When do we become more distractible? Progressive evolution of different components of distractibility from early to late adulthood.

“…In the present study, impulsivity is assessed using different behavioral measures provided by the CAT (cue, random, distractor, and anticipated responses). Among these measures, only the proportion of anticipated responses changes with age: adults aged 21–40 are more likely to impulsively press the button before the target than their older peers, suggesting that motor inhibition is improving after 40 years old, in contradiction with previous studies showing increasing (Coyne et al, 1978; Maylor et al, 2011; Nielson et al, 2002) or stable (Hong et al, 2014; Hsieh et al, 2016; Lin & Cheng, 2020; Paitel & Nielson, 2021) impulsivity with aging. However, the present result should be taken cautiously as the size of this effect is small.…”

“…Impulsivity is another component of distractibility and refers to the tendency to act before having fully analyzed a situation, without regard for the consequences of the act to oneself or to others (Barratt & Patton, 1983). Impulsivity has been found to be increased (Coyne et al, 1978; Maylor et al, 2011; Nielson et al, 2002) or unchanged (Hong et al, 2014; Hsieh et al, 2016; Lin & Cheng, 2020; Paitel & Nielson, 2021) in older adults compared to younger ones (see also Rey-Mermet & Gade, 2018 for a review).…”

When do we become more prone to distraction? Progressive evolution of the different components of distractibility from early to late adulthood

“…Motor inhibition also plays a role in the emergence of impulsive behaviors as it supports the ability to stop an ongoing response. Impulsivity has been found increased (Coyne et al, 1978; Maylor et al, 2011; Nielson et al, 2002) or unchanged (Hong et al, 2014; Hsieh et al, 2016; Lin & Cheng, 2020; Paitel & Nielson, 2021) in older adults compared to younger ones (see also Rey-Mermet & Gade, 2018 for a review).…”

Inhibitory Performance in Smokers Relative to Nonsmokers When Exposed to Neutral, Smoking- and Money-Related Pictures

“…The age restriction could also be seen as a limitation. The main reason for the age limit was based on recent studies that suggest that inhibition mechanisms might be affected by aging, especially around and over the age of 60 [36,37]. To avoid any such potential age-related effects, we employed a strict age restriction.…”