Age differences in foraging and executive functions: A cross-sectional study
Age differences in foraging and executive functions: A cross-sectional study
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DOI：
10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104910
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发表时间：
2020-10-01
影响因子：
2.6
通讯作者：
Kristjansson, Arni
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Olafsdottir, Inga Maria;Gestsdottir, Steinunn;Kristjansson, Arni
视觉觅食任务要求参与者在众多干扰物中寻找多个目标。觅食范式比传统的单目标搜索范式更能深入了解视觉注意的功能。这包括随时间推移的注意定向和从不同目标类型中选择目标的搜索策略。迄今为止，关于觅食能力发展的研究屈指可数。在这里，研究人员测量了5个年龄组——6岁、9岁、12岁、15岁的儿童和成年人——的觅食能力，以及他们在评估执行功能四个子领域的各种任务中的表现：抑制力、注意力灵活性、工作记忆和解决问题能力。执行功能由一个独立但相互关联的认知过程组成的复杂网络组成，这些过程调节着行动导向和目标导向的行为，并已被证明与视觉注意和注意导向有关。结果表明，6 ~ 12岁时，觅食能力显著提高，达到成虫的觅食水平。这可以从觅食时间的减少、目标类型之间切换的日益频繁、切换成本的降低和错误率的降低中得到明显体现。此外，偏最小二乘结构方程模型表明，觅食任务的年龄差异主要是通过执行功能产生的间接影响。换句话说，成功觅食能力的发展与执行功能的成熟高度相关。(C) 2020爱思唯尔公司版权所有。
Visual foraging tasks require participants to search for multiple targets among numerous distractors. Foraging paradigms enable insights into the function of visual attention above what has been learned from traditional single-target search paradigms. These include attentional orienting over time and search strategies involving target selection from different target types. To date, only a handful of studies have been conducted on the development of foraging abilities. Here, the foraging of five age groups-children aged 6, 9, 12, and 15 years and adults-was measured, as was their performance on various tasks assessing four subdomains of executive functions: inhibition, attentional flexibility, working memory, and problem solving. Executive functions consist of a complex network of independent but interconnected cognitive processes that regulate action-orienting and goal-directed behavior and have been shown to be connected to visual attention and attentional orienting. Our results show that foraging abilities improve dramatically from 6 to 12 years of age, when adult levels of foraging have been reached. This is evident from reduced foraging times, increasingly frequent switches between target types, lower switch costs, and reduced error rates. In addition, partial least squares structural equation modeling reveals that the age differences on the foraging tasks are predominantly indirect effects through executive functions. In other words, the development of successful foraging abilities is highly correlated with the maturation of executive functions. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.