Effects of age on inhibitory control are affected by task-specific features

de Bruin, Angela; Della Sala, Sergio · 2018 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2017.1311352

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Summary

This study investigates whether age-related deficits in inhibitory control are consistent across different tasks or if they depend on task-specific features and processing speed. While older adults are often described as having impoverished inhibitory control, previous research suggests these effects may vanish when correcting for general slowing or may vary by task type. The authors conducted two experiments to examine the relationship between age, processing speed, and inhibition costs using three paradigms: a Simon arrow task, a static flanker task, and a novel motion flanker task. In Experiment 1, 40 participants (20 younger, 20 older) completed a motion flanker task where they identified the direction of moving central dots amidst distracting flanker dots. The study manipulated motion coherency to vary conflict levels. Results showed that older adults had slower overall reaction times (RTs) but did not exhibit larger flanker costs (inhibition deficits) compared to younger adults. Crucially, baseline processing speed predicted inhibition costs differently by age group: younger adults with faster baseline RTs showed smaller flanker costs, whereas older adults with faster baseline RTs showed larger flanker costs. This suggests that older adults with slower motion perception were less affected by flanker interference, potentially due to reduced perceptual conflict. Experiment 2 expanded the design to include 58 participants (30 younger, 28 older) who completed the motion flanker, static flanker, and Simon arrow tasks. The goal was to determine if the lack of age effects on flanker tasks and the role of processing speed were specific to motion stimuli or generalized. The results replicated the finding that older adults had slower overall RTs across all three tasks. However, significant age effects on inhibition costs were observed only in the Simon arrow task, where older adults showed larger costs than younger adults. No significant age differences in inhibition costs were found for either the static or motion flanker tasks. Furthermore, the relationship between baseline speed and inhibition costs observed in the motion task did not generalize to the static tasks in the same manner. The findings indicate that effects of age on inhibitory control are not uniform but are task-dependent. Age-related inhibition deficits appear in Simon tasks but not in flanker tasks, suggesting that the type of interference (spatial position vs. peripheral distractors) and stimulus type (static vs. motion) modulate age effects. Additionally, baseline processing speed influences inhibition costs, particularly in motion-based tasks, implying that older adults’ performance may be shaped by perceptual processing speeds rather than a pure executive control deficit. These results challenge the view of a general age-related inhibition impairment, highlighting the importance of considering task-specific features and processing speed when assessing cognitive aging.

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• cognitive aging