Aging and Attentional Control: Examining the Roles of Mind-Wandering Propensity and Dispositional Mindfulness.
Stephanie Fountain-Zaragoza, Nicole A Puccetti, Patrick Whitmoyer, Ruchika Shaurya Prakash
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society August 29, 2018 DOI: 10.1017/s1355617718000553 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 125 |
| Population | 75 older adults aged 60-75 years and 50 young adults aged 18-30 years |
| Measures | Go/No-Go task, Continuous Performance Task with quasi-random mind-wandering probes |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Cross-sectional studies Individuality Psychomotor performance Attention Reaction time Neuropsychological tests Adolescent Middle aged Female Young adult Individual differences Older adults Cognitive aging Off-task thought |
| Key findings | Few age-related differences in attentional control emerged. Mind-wandering was not associated with worse global performance but did impair local (pre-mind-wandering) performance across age groups. Older adults reported higher trait mindfulness and less mind-wandering, which helped explain the absence of age differences in attentional control. |
Abstract
Objectives: Aging is associated with declines in performance on certain laboratory tasks of attentional control. However, older adults tend to report greater mindful, present-moment attention and less mind-wandering (MW) than young adults. For older adults, high levels of these traits may be protective for attentional performance. This study examined age-related differences in global (i.e., full-task) and local (i.e., pre-MW) attentional control and explored the variance explained by MW and mindfulness.
Methods: Cross-sectional comparisons were conducted on data from a previously reported sample of 75 older adults (ages, 60-75 years) and a new sample of 50 young adults (ages, 18-30 years). All participants completed a Go/No-Go task and a Continuous Performance Task with quasi-random MW probes.
Results: There were few age-related differences in attentional control. Although MW was not associated with decrements in global performance, local performance measures revealed deleterious effects of MW, which were present across age groups. Older adults reported higher trait mindfulness and less MW than young adults, and these variables helped explain the lack of observed age-related differences in attentional control.
Conclusions: Individual differences in dispositional mindfulness and MW propensity explain important variance in attentional performance across age. Increasing present-moment focus and reducing lapses in attention represent important targets for cognitive rehabilitation interventions. (JINS, 2018, 24, 876-888).