Aging and Performance of Cognitive and Perceptual Tasks

描述(由申请人提供)：人类视觉系统的一个重要功能是恢复关于环境中物体的运动和观察者在环境中的运动的信息。视觉系统对这些信息的恢复通过两种不同的分析来执行。一种分析涉及从局部图像速度的方向提取微分不变信息。第二种分析涉及在大范围视野中整合速度和方向信息。我们之前关于运动知觉和衰老的研究已经检验了与年龄相关的2D运动感知差异(例如，运动一致性)，并且已经检验了基于差异不变量(例如，表面检测和识别、相对深度、碰撞检测)执行知觉任务时与年龄相关的差异。这些研究记录了依赖于对视觉系统的一项分析而执行复杂知觉任务的年龄相关的下降。这项拟议的研究将检验负责第二个分析-整合速度信息--的过程中与年龄有关的差异。这项拟议的研究旨在通过对基本运动敏感性的研究、对执行感知任务的运动信息的研究以及对年龄和驾驶过程中此类信息的使用的研究来研究这一问题。具体而言，本研究将进行以下实验：(1)评估整合速度信息的年龄相关差异；(2)评估整合方向信息的年龄相关差异；(3)确定整合速度的年龄差异与观察者运动任务在自我运动知觉、航向知觉、速度知觉和碰撞检测方面的表现之间的关系；以及(4)检验速度信息整合与驾驶任务绩效之间的关系。这项研究将提供对速度整合的视觉机制的理解，这些机制中与年龄相关的变化如何决定在观察者运动中高水平任务的成功执行，以及与驾驶相关的知觉任务中与年龄相关的差异如何是与年龄相关的速度整合差异的结果。这项研究的结果将有助于理解与年龄相关的事故风险增加。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): An important function of the human visual system is to recover information regarding movement of objects in the environment and movement of the observer through the environment. The recovery of this information by the visual system is performed by two distinct analyses. One analysis is concerned with extracting differential invariant information from the directions of local image velocities. The second analysis is concerned with integrating speed and direction information over large regions of the visual field. Our previous research on motion perception and aging has examined age-related differences in perceiving 2D motion (e.g., motion coherence) and has examined age-related differences in performing perceptual tasks based on differential invariants (e.g., surface detection and identification, relative depth, collision detection). These studies have documented age-related declines in performing complex perceptual tasks dependent on one analysis of the visual system. The proposed research will examine age-related differences in processes responsible for the second analysis---integrating velocity information. The proposed research is designed to examine this issue by conducting studies on basic motion sensitivity, conducting studies on motion information for performing perceptual tasks, and conducting studies on aging and the use of such information during driving. Specifically, experiments will be conducted to (1) assess age related differences in integrating speed information, (2) assess age-related differences in integrating direction information, (3) determine the relationship between age-related differences in integrating velocity and the performance of observer motion tasks on perceived self-motion, the perception of heading, the perception of egospeed, and the detection of collisions, and (4) examine the relationship between the integration of velocity information and the performance of driving tasks. This research will provide an understanding of the visual mechanisms responsible for velocity integration, how age-related changes in these mechanisms determines the successful performance of high level tasks during observer motion, and how age-related differences in perceptual tasks associated with driving are the result of age-related differences in velocity integration. The results of this research will be beneficial in understanding the increased accident risk associated with age.