Older brains do not think as quickly as younger brains do. But does this cognitive impairment arise because processing speeds slacken or because the ability to block out irrelevant information falters? A recent study reconciles these two leading hypotheses: older brains have a harder time ignoring distractions in the initial stages of performing a task, which slows down processing.
Adam Gazzaley of the University of California, San Francisco, and his colleagues asked two groups—one made up of 19- to 33-year-olds and the other of 60- to 72-year-olds—to perform a memory task. The researchers used electroencephalography to record electrical signals from the participants’ brains in milliseconds during the task. In contrast to the younger adults, the older group could not suppress distracting stimuli during the first 200 milliseconds after exposure. “At later time points, the ability to ignore does show up,” Gazzaley says. “It’s not abolished, just delayed.” By then, however, the irrelevant information had interfered with the memory task, making the older group less accurate overall than the younger group.
On average, older adults display this cognitive deficit, but “not all older adults are impaired relative to younger adults,” Gazzaley notes. Dividing the older group in half according to high and low task performance indicated that only the low scorers had the problem. He adds that exploring the older adults’ differences may reveal ways to avoid or correct the deficit.
Note: This article was originally published with the title, "Slow to Ignore".
See what we're tweeting about
18 Comments
Add CommentDid this study account for the speed, diversity, pervasiveness and low signal-to-noise ratio of the media experienced by a younger generation? Perhaps they have devloped adaptive perceptual and cognitive skills never required of their elders.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI wonder if a regime of meditation, where one focuses on avoiding distracting thoughts, would help older adults with this issue.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe ability to concentrate does not really kick in until around the age of five or six, hence the time children start to school. The need to concentrate continues throughout the years of schooling: for many into the twenties and even thirties. Added to this is the need to concentrate if one has a job and has children. By the time one reaches their sixties and seventies, the need and demand to concentrate have diminished - in some cases, considerably. Those elders who continue to work, or are intellectually engaged in stimulating mental activity continue to have a high level of concentration. However, because the necessity itself has diminished, pin-point concentration is able to translate into a broader concentration which involves actually using all the mental resources gained over six or seven decades. Those 19 have very few resources considering they have only been learning to learn for thirteen years. Those who are in their thirties are still in the process of learning how to use what they have learned in school, and are now learning in 'real life', as well as gaining the ability to think as well as learn. In the forties and fifties, moving up the ladder professionally and raising children increase concentration, as well as establishing a 'library' of everything those years have created. As one reaches the sixties and seventies, children are more or less grown, and the future is retirement rather than moving up the ladder of success. Individuals who continue to remain mentally active intellectually, are now able to relax a little and actually put to use all they have learned and done over six or seven decades. This is the time where people write their memior's, which requires a great deal of concentration, but has no pressing deadline except a book deal from a publisher, or death itself. Each age of life has demands and importances more or less specific to the needs and demands of those points in time. Some of what we learn goes into our 'library', and some is discarded - much as our baby board-books are discarded for more mature reading matter. This continues all through out life, to greater and lesser degrees, and this is true as well for the need to concentrate.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe ability to concentrate does not really kick in until around the age of five or six, hence the time children start to school. The need to concentrate continues throughout the years of schooling: for many into the twenties and even thirties. Added to this is the need to concentrate if one has a job and has children. By the time one reaches their sixties and seventies, the need and demand to concentrate have diminished - in some cases, considerably. Those elders who continue to work, or are intellectually engaged in stimulating mental activity continue to have a high level of concentration. However, because the necessity itself has diminished, pin-point concentration is able to translate into a broader concentration which involves actually using all the mental resources gained over six or seven decades. Those 19 have very few resources considering they have only been learning to learn for thirteen years. Those who are in their thirties are still in the process of learning how to use what they have learned in school, and are now learning in 'real life', as well as gaining the ability to think as well as learn. In the forties and fifties, moving up the ladder professionally and raising children increase concentration, as well as establishing a 'library' of everything those years have created. As one reaches the sixties and seventies, children are more or less grown, and the future is retirement rather than moving up the ladder of success. Individuals who continue to remain mentally active intellectually, are now able to relax a little and actually put to use all they have learned and done over six or seven decades. This is the time where people write their memior's, which requires a great deal of concentration, but has no pressing deadline except a book deal from a publisher, or death itself. Each age of life has demands and importances more or less specific to the needs and demands of those points in time. Some of what we learn goes into our 'library', and some is discarded - much as our baby board-books are discarded for more mature reading matter. This continues all through out life, to greater and lesser degrees, and this is true as well for the need to concentrate.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn the legal context the definition of relevance is a low bar: Having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis definition generally relates to how humans analyze data. Simulations attempting to force people to memorize arbitrary data while ignoring 'irrelevant data' do not correspond well to cognitive problem solving whereby humans tend to evaluate situations to determine what problems need solving. Such an examination requires a very broad evaluation of all facts present.
I agree with unveiler.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisExperienced problem solving requires a much larger array of information analysis. The 'irrelevant data' mentioned may contribute to subtle change to a problems solution. Wisdom slows down snap decision making.
your thoughts are inspiring to me. it confirms that i have bigger aspirations than beyond building a career. it confirms that i really need to sit down with my elders... particularly my parents... and create a meaningful library of stories, and the lessons learned from those many tales we randomly hear about from there lips during the holidays. endless accounts that we heard around the dinner table as a kid. wisdom that shouldn't die, but should live on for as long as possible to teach and guide us in the hard times. (my reply doesn't have much of a connection to the article itself, but the progression of life... the way you put it helped me to realize that one day... all that ability to concentrate will be for what (when we're old?) unless its recorded in some sort of library... it will die with our last breaths.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy Father and Mother in law are the same age. Everyone in the Families merely disregaerded thier absent mindedness due to Altzhiemers. I,on the other hand, suffering from my own overload of life, took the time to speak to my Mother in Law, one day when my exwife decided to take her to her to her doctors appointment the next day. so she was spending the evening with us. After dinner we were at the table and I relized her stress. I said to her," Mom, I know it's difficult to remember things that You don't give a damn about." With that, she began to laugh for the first time in months.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisReturning to the article that generated this discussion:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRereading it again, I found that I have some serious questions about the methodology of the study itself. Since I am a professional researcher, it took about 45 seconds open another browser window and to find the following information. If you are interested in the study itself, here is the link: http://www.nyas.org/ebriefreps/main.asp?intSubsectionID=4294
If you are interested in Dr. Dr. (yes, he is an MD and a PhD) Gazzaley, here is that link: http://gazzaleylab.ucsf.edu/Lab-Director.html
I am very interested in his work, so I am now in the process of opening discussions with him.
Distractability may be very advantageous in the later years. As senses start to blunt, to be easily distracted, say, by the sound of an automobile coming from behind for example, has distinct survival implications.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRather than seeing the effect as an impediment, it may possibly be more fruitful to look for examples of situation where the phenomenon described is a positive adaptation.
In our youth and vigour we are often way too ready to leap on the more obvious conclusions, and fail woefully to be distracted by interesting side issues.
Dagnab it, I couldn't concentrate on that dadburned article. You kids get off my lawn!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI remember an intelligence test that was scored the same way on children of the same age at different times. Unfortunately I dont remember whether the tests were 20 years or even longer apart . The results indicate that children now score about 10 points higher now than at the earlier time. It was theorized that the reason was that children now are exposed to more stimuli and thus their brains get more training now than before. Would yuou care to comment on this, and on its possible effect?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHas anyone considered that as we grow older we gain a larger perspective and therefore there is simply more to consider - more variables in our algorithms?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAge alone is not our brain's greatest challenge; toxins including prescription drugs and stress affect concentration and desire to concentrate.
The question might be, "how does one know that the information one is receiving is irrelevant?" A younger person as less of a databank of experience and hence, is if far easier to push things aside. An older one, more points of references.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThus older opinions are often more mature--maturity being able to see relationships and context. Younger people can often be hot--hormonally driven--not allowing for context and motivated by seemingly quick and easy solutions.
I wouldn't want an adolescent to be US President--but wait, we just had that and see what has happened.
What did'ja say? Oh yes, perhaps my studied focus on reading in my youth to block out my mother's jabbering will come in handy in the future?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs a 30 year Electronics Technician, I've had many opportunities to work both in distraction rich environments and perfect solitude. Regardless of the circumstances, I've always felt that the ability to "focus" on a problem was more of a developed skill and one that, in my case at least, has gotten better with age. Certainly the young "pups" I work with have very little mental discipline and are easily distracted.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOk, my proof reading skills suck.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAny one interested in meditation that is non-coercive and devoid of mystical or religious beliefs may look at the following webpage and read a fascinating book: -
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://rewiringthebrain.net/
http://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.asp?bookid=39251
Rajnilu