AGE DIFFERENCES ON TEST OF FRONTAL LOBE FUNCTION

额叶功能测试的年龄差异

• 批准号: 6509874
• 负责人: MARILYN D HARTMAN
• 金额: $ 17.21万
• 依托单位: UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1999
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1999-09-30 至 2004-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6509874
• 关键词: age difference; clinical research; frontal lobe /cortex; human subject; memory disorders; neural information processing; neuropsychological tests; short term memory; stimulus /response

This project focuses on the cognitive processes underlying differences between healthy younger and older adults on neuropsychological tests of frontal lobe functioning. Previous research has shown substantial age-related declines on these tests, and there is strong evidence that changes in working memory ability may be important in explaining these declines. Working memory entails the capacity to simultaneously hold and process information about stimuli, responses, and goals needed to carry out a task. The primary hypothesis set forth here is that older adults have a reduced ability to update information in working memory. Thus, they may be less responsive to new input and fail to re-organize information already in working memory in response to new information. This research project includes a set of 17 experiments using three different neuropsychological tests of frontal lobe function: delayed response tests, self-ordered pointing tests, and tests of memory for temporal order. Specific experiments have three aims: (1) to determine whether changes in the ability to update working memory can explain age differences on these tests, (2) to identify which aspects of the updating process are most sensitive to aging; and (3) to rule out alternative explanations. Results of this research have applications for evaluating the psychological status of the elderly and designing optimal environments for them. The more immediate goal, however, is to advance our knowledge of the cognitive basis of normal aging.

该项目着重于健康的年轻人和老年人在额叶功能的神经心理学测试中的认知过程。 先前的研究表明，这些测试与年龄相关的大幅下降，有强有力的证据表明，工作记忆能力的变化对于解释这些下降可能很重要。工作记忆需要同时保留和处理有关刺激，响应和目标的信息的能力。 这里提出的主要假设是老年人的更新工作记忆中信息的能力降低。 因此，它们可能对新输入的响应不足，并且无法重新组织为响应新信息的工作内存中的信息。该研究项目包括使用额叶功能的三个不同神经心理学测试的17组实验：延迟响应测试，自定序指向测试以及时间顺序的记忆测试。 特定的实验具有三个目的：（1）确定更新工作记忆能力的变化是否可以解释这些测试的年龄差异，（2）确定更新过程的哪些方面对衰老最敏感； （3）排除其他解释。 这项研究的结果应用于评估老年人的心理状况并为他们设计最佳环境。 但是，更直接的目标是提高我们对正常衰老的认知基础的了解。