Sensory Gating in Normal Adults Versus Alzheimer's Patients
Running head: ATTENTION AND AGING
Attention and Aging: A Review of
Sensory Gating in Normal Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease
Author Not Identified
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Abstract
Many studies suggest that the role of attention changes with increasing age. These changes have to do with the ability to focus on relevant information and disregard irrelevant information. This phenomenon is known as sensory gating of information. Although normal cognitive aging reflects some decline in attentive ability, there appears to be a unique, and more universal, component to this decline in Alzheimer’s patients. Normal cognitive aging appears to be restricted to certain domains, whereas Alzheimer’s disease patients have a more universal impairment in their ability to control attention. This review informs the reader of previous theories and research on attention and aging, and discusses findings of the constituents of normal and abnormal cognitive aging with relation to attention.
Attention and Aging: A Review of
Sensory Gating in Normal Aging and Alzheimer’s disease As research in aging progresses, we are increasingly aware of certain diminished capacities in the elderly. Specifically, it has come to attention that older individuals have a reduced capacity to focus on relevant information while disregarding irrelevant information. This phenomenon is known as “gating” sensory information. There are many hypotheses regarding this phenomenon. Some of the more specific hypotheses include reduced attention capacity, reduced working memory capacity, and inhibition deficit. Some theories also postulate that the attentional deficit seen in older adults is due to decreased executive function capacity to control attention. Interestingly, there appears to be a unique component to attentional deficit in normal aging versus aging of the Alzheimer’s type. However, in order to gain an informed understanding of this phenomenon in any aging scenario, it is
Attention and Aging: A Review of
Sensory Gating in Normal Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease
Author Not Identified
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Abstract
Many studies suggest that the role of attention changes with increasing age. These changes have to do with the ability to focus on relevant information and disregard irrelevant information. This phenomenon is known as sensory gating of information. Although normal cognitive aging reflects some decline in attentive ability, there appears to be a unique, and more universal, component to this decline in Alzheimer’s patients. Normal cognitive aging appears to be restricted to certain domains, whereas Alzheimer’s disease patients have a more universal impairment in their ability to control attention. This review informs the reader of previous theories and research on attention and aging, and discusses findings of the constituents of normal and abnormal cognitive aging with relation to attention.
Attention and Aging: A Review of
Sensory Gating in Normal Aging and Alzheimer’s disease As research in aging progresses, we are increasingly aware of certain diminished capacities in the elderly. Specifically, it has come to attention that older individuals have a reduced capacity to focus on relevant information while disregarding irrelevant information. This phenomenon is known as “gating” sensory information. There are many hypotheses regarding this phenomenon. Some of the more specific hypotheses include reduced attention capacity, reduced working memory capacity, and inhibition deficit. Some theories also postulate that the attentional deficit seen in older adults is due to decreased executive function capacity to control attention. Interestingly, there appears to be a unique component to attentional deficit in normal aging versus aging of the Alzheimer’s type. However, in order to gain an informed understanding of this phenomenon in any aging scenario, it is
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