Testing the limits of cognitive plasticity in older adults: Application to attentional control

被引:79
作者
Bherer, Louis
Kramer, Arthur F.
Peterson, Matthew S.
Colcombe, Stanley
Erickson, Kirk
Becic, Ensar
机构
[1] Univ Quebec, Dept Psychol, Montreal, PQ H3C 3P8, Canada
[2] Inst Univ Geriat Montreal, Res Ctr, Montreal, PQ H3C 3P8, Canada
[3] Univ Illinois, Beckman Inst Adv Sci & Technol, Urbana, IL 61801 USA
[4] George Mason Univ, Dept Psychol, Fairfax, VA 22030 USA
关键词
aging; executive control; cognitive plasticity; cognitive training;
D O I
10.1016/j.actpsy.2006.01.005
中图分类号
B84 [心理学];
学科分类号
04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
Laboratory based training studies suggest that older adults can benefit from training in tasks that tap control aspects of attention. This was further explored in the present study in which older and younger adults completed an adaptive and individualized dual-task training program. The testing-the-limits approach was used [Lindenberger, U., & Baltes, P. B. (1995). Testing-the-limits and experimental simulation: Two methods to explicate the role of learning in development. Human Development, 38, 349-360.] in order to gain insight into how attentional control can be improved in older adults. Results indicated substantial improvement in overlapping task performance in both younger and older participants suggesting the availability of cognitive plasticity in both age groups. Improvement was equivalent among age groups in response speed and performance variability but larger in response accuracy for older adults. The results suggest that time-sharing skills can be substantially improved in older adults. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:261 / 278
页数:18
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