Premium
P3–021: Visuomotor integration is impaired in early stage AD individuals
Author(s) -
Tippett William J.,
Krajewski Adam,
Sergio Lauren E.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2006.05.1288
Subject(s) - visual feedback , physical medicine and rehabilitation , population , psychology , sensory system , audiology , eye movement , path integration , cognition , cursor (databases) , cognitive psychology , computer science , medicine , artificial intelligence , neuroscience , environmental health
assume that older adults will show less asymmetrical stimulus processing than younger adults and a reduced ability to modulate stimulus-driven processing when in conflict with the normal preference. Methods: The subjects were enrolled in a study of genetic markers for cognitive ageing, including an extensive neuropsychological, MRI examination and genetic analysis. The present study report results from the 102 males and females 50-75 yrs, assessed on a Consonant Vowel Dichotic Listening paradigm (CV DL). The results were compared with data from a younger reference group (30-50 yrs) (Hugdahl, 2003 database). In a dichotic listening task most subjects correctly report more syllables from the right than left ear, known as the Right Ear Advantage (REA). We used a variant of the CV-DL paradigm (Hugdahl & Andersson, 1986) consisting of two additional attentional conditions, where the subjects were instructed to report syllables from only one ear. In subjects with REA, the task of reporting syllables from the right ear is suggested to require focusing of attention, while reporting items from the left ear is suggested to also require inhibitory executive function (Hugdahl et al., 2003). Conclusions: The results showed that the older females exhibited a tendency towards more symmetrical stimulus processing, suggesting that the paradigm is sensitive to changes in information processing in older age. All male and female groups showed an increased REA in the forced-right condition, a task demanding focused attention. All but the older male group managed to report more syllables from the left ear than from the right ear in the forced-left condition, a task demanding inhibitory executive function. Due to the larger heterogeneity found in the older female group, it’s suggested that gender should be taken into account to increase the specificity of the paradigm in identifying pathological development in older age.