The role of executive control in cognitive and motor aging

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The ability to carry out multiple tasks simultaneously or in rapid succession is a vital requirement of successful adult functioning. For example, activities of daily life such as self-feeding, grooming, and navigating in one's environment, can be decomposed into a sequence of steps. Research suggests that the efficiency of cognitive control processes (suppressing environmental noise or inappropriate responses) is important for multi-tasking, and that these processes decline with healthy aging. More recent evidence points to the increasing role that these attentional control processes play in motor performance in late life. The general aim of the proposed work is to study the cognitive control processes required for multiple-task performance within three contexts: (i) cognitive sequencing; (ii) finger sequencing; and (iii) walking. These experimental test contexts are relevant to everyday tasks such as remembering and completing a to-do list, keyboard fingering, and walking while conversing. For each theme, samples of healthy young (18-30) and older (60-80) adults will be recruited to participate in single-session experiments designed to vary the extent to which cognitive control processes are needed during multiple-task functioning. The general expectation is that increasing cognitive control demands will lead to disproportionately greater performance impairments for older adults compared to young adults. Together, the work will advance knowledge on cognitive and motor aging, and will inform designs to improve the independent functioning of older adults.