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Inhibition and Switching in Healthy Aging: A Longitudinal Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 December 2016

Steinunn Adólfsdóttir ,
Daniel Wollschlaeger ,
Eike Wehling  and
Astri J. Lundervold
Steinunn Adólfsdóttir*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway
Daniel Wollschlaeger
Affiliation:
Institute for Medical Statistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, University Medical Center of the Johannes-Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
Eike Wehling
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway Kavli Centre for Aging and Dementia Research, Haraldsplass Hospital, Bergen, Norway Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
Astri J. Lundervold
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway K.G. Jebsen Center for Research on Neuropsychiatric Disorders, University of Bergen, Norway
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Steinunn Adólfsdóttir, Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Jonas Lies vei 91, 5009 Bergen, Norway. E-mail: steinunn.adolfsdottir@ uib.no
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Abstract

Objectives: Discrepant findings of age-related effects between cross-sectional and longitudinal studies on executive function (EF) have been described across different studies. The aim of the present study was to examine longitudinal age effects on inhibition and switching, two key subfunctions of EF, calculated from results on the Color Word Interference Test (CWIT). Methods: One hundred twenty-three healthy aging individuals (average age 61.4 years; 67% women) performed the CWIT up to three times, over a period of more than 6 years. Measures of inhibition, switching, and combined inhibition and switching were analyzed. A longitudinal linear mixed effects models analysis was run including basic CWIT conditions, and measures of processing speed, retest effect, gender, education, and age as predictors. Results: After taking all predictors into account, age added significantly to the predictive value of the longitudinal models of (i) inhibition, (ii) switching, and (iii) combined inhibition and switching. The basic CWIT conditions and the processing speed measure added to the predictive value of the models, while retest effect, gender, and education did not. Conclusions: The present study on middle-aged to older individuals showed age-related decline in inhibition and switching abilities. This decline was retained even when basic CWIT conditions, processing speed, attrition, gender, and education were controlled. (JINS, 2017, 23, 90–97)

Keywords

Executive functionsCognitive controlStroopCognitive flexibilityCognitive agingLongitudinal
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , January 2017 , pp. 90 - 97
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2016 

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