Neural mechanisms underlying age-related changes in attentional selectivity.

Abstract

Age and inhibition has been one of the most prominent and explored research areas in cognition and aging in the past 30 years, and the deficit in ignoring irrelevant information in older adults compared with younger adults has now been demonstrated across many contexts and paradigms. However, despite this relatively intensive focus on age-related declines in this aspect of attention, it is not well understood which brain changes contribute most to these behavioral changes. This chapter reviews evidence suggesting that age-related deficits in frontoparietal networks play a key role in older adults' impaired ability to ignore distracting information. It discusses how these frontoparietal network impairments involve changes in alpha band activity, GABAergic processing, dopaminergic decreases, and changes in how noradrenergic release under arousal affects attention. In addition, the chapter discusses alternative mechanisms of older adults' impaired attentional selectivity and directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)