Effects of Aging on Cancellation Tasks

老化对取消任务的影响

• 批准号: 6546345
• 负责人: Victor William Mark
• 金额: $ 7.25万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-09-01 至 2004-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6546345
• 关键词: adult human (21+); age difference; attention; behavior test; clinical research; computer data analysis; computer human interaction; data collection methodology /evaluation; functional ability; human subject; neural information processing; performance; psychological aspect of aging; psychological tests; stimulus /response; visual feedback; visual stimulus

Age-related cognitive decline may affect functional independence. Visual search tasks can predict accidents in the elderly. However, most visual search studies in aging rely on brief stimulus presentations and speeded manual responses. It is therefore unclear whether such conditions may reflect the cognitive, sensory, or motor processes involved in other real-life spatial search tasks, particularly where stimuli are visible for extended periods and speeded responses are not required. Cancellation tests usually require manually marking multiple targets in a display while ignoring distractors. Speeded responses are not strictly required, and stimuli may be visible indefinitely. Such tests can be used to assess speed of processing and spatial attention. Cancellation tests are usually given to brain injured subjects. However, recent studies indicate they also may be sensitive to search processes in aging. The aim of this study is to determine whether new methods of cancellation assessment can improve the test's sensitivity to age-related changes in spatial search. The cancellation test will be presented on an interactive touchscreen display. Subjects will touch all targets in random-array cancellation tests with a stylus. Depending on the test, targets when touched will either (1) be marked, (2) disappear, or (3) show no visible change at all. These modifications will model different outcomes of visuomanual exploration of the environment. The display device will calculate (1) number of targets touched, (2) speed of processing, (3) organization of search (through total pathway intersections), and (4) perseverated target contacts. Through assessing whether changes in test format affect these measures, we will determine whether the cancellation test's sensitivity to age-related changes in spatial search may be improved. The findings will provide normative data for future research to determine whether cancellation tests may be sensitive to functional decline in aging and neurologic disorders.

与抑郁症相关的认知能力下降可能会影响功能独立性。视觉搜索任务可以预测老年人的事故。 然而，大多数关于衰老的视觉搜索研究依赖于简短的刺激呈现和快速的手动反应。因此，目前还不清楚这些条件是否可能反映其他现实生活中的空间搜索任务所涉及的认知，感觉或运动过程，特别是在刺激可见的时间延长，不需要快速反应。取消测试通常需要手动标记显示器中的多个目标，同时忽略干扰项。 快速反应不是严格要求的，刺激可以无限期地可见。 这些测试可以用来评估处理速度和空间注意力。 取消测试通常是给大脑受伤的科目。然而，最近的研究表明，它们也可能对衰老过程中的搜索过程敏感。本研究的目的是确定是否取消评估的新方法可以提高测试的敏感性与年龄有关的变化，在空间搜索。 取消测试将在交互式触摸屏显示器上显示。受试者将用触笔触摸随机阵列取消测试中的所有目标。 根据不同的测试，目标在被触摸时将（1）被标记，（2）消失，或（3）根本没有可见的变化。 这些修改将模拟不同的结果visuomanual探索的环境。 显示设备将计算（1）触摸的目标的数量，（2）处理的速度，（3）搜索的组织（通过总路径交叉点），以及（4）持续的目标接触。 通过评估测试格式的变化是否会影响这些措施，我们将确定是否取消测试的敏感性与年龄有关的变化，空间搜索可能会得到改善。这些发现将为未来的研究提供规范性数据，以确定取消测试是否可能对衰老和神经系统疾病的功能下降敏感。