Age Differences in Learning-Related Neurophysiological Changes: Measures of Brain Activity, Eye Tracking, Skin Conductance, Heart Rate, and Respiration

Abstract

Research in young adults has demonstrated that neurophysiological measures are able to provide insight into learning processes. However, to date, it remains unclear whether neurophysiological changes during learning in older adults are comparable to those in younger adults. The current study addressed this issue by exploring age differences in changes over time in a range of neurophysiological outcome measures collected during visuomotor sequence learning. Specifically, measures of electroencephalography (EEG), skin conductance, heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration rate, and eye-related measures, in addition to behavioral performance measures, were collected in younger (Mage = 27.24 years) and older adults (Mage = 58.06 years) during learning. Behavioral responses became more accurate over time in both age groups during visuomotor sequence learning. Yet, older adults needed more time in each trial to enhance the precision of their movement. Changes in EEG during learning demonstrated a stronger increase in theta power in older compared to younger adults and a decrease in gamma power in older adults while increasing slightly in younger adults. No such differences between the two age groups were found on other neurophysiological outcome measures, suggesting changes in brain activity during learning to be more sensitive to age differences than changes in peripheral physiology. Additionally, differences in which neurophysiological outcomes were associated with behavioral performance on the learning task were found between younger and older adults. This indicates that the neurophysiological underpinnings of learning may differ between younger and older adults. Therefore, the current findings highlight the importance of taking age into account when aiming to gain insight into behavioral performance through neurophysiology during learning.