AGING INFLUENCES ON SUSTAINED ATTENTION AND TASK-UNRELATED IMAGES AND THOUGHTS

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This work attempts to determine the parameters of task-unrelated images and thoughts (TUITs, daydreaming/mindwanding) as well as related mental activity such as insight, attention and sustained attention as phenomena, their relationships amongst one another, and their susceptibility to the influence of aging in adulthood. These goals are accomplished through the use of controlled laboratory studies and retrospective questionnaires. This year's findings were: (a) TUIT frequency during reading is inversely related to subject interest in the material, (b) TUIT frequency shows a circadian variation with a minimum about midnight and a maximum at about 10 am, (c) longitudinal decreases over 7 years in daydreaming frequency as measured by retrospective questionnaire, and (d) extended practice on a high event vigilance task, with typical exposure times, does not reduce or eliminate age decrements in performance.