title: Psychophysiological and behavioral differences as a function of age and Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Differences related to age and to specific neurological (Parkinsonian) damage were studied by contrasting, respectively, old (mean age 64 years) and young (27 years) subjects (N = 15), and old-normal (N = 15) and old-Parkinsonian (N = 15) subjects. Both behavioral as well as psychophysiological dependent variables were employed. The behavioral measure was performance on a discrimination learning task, while the psychophysiological measures were based on habituation to a repeated tone stimulus and on a Pavlovian differential conditioning preparation. The behavioral task showed predominantly age-related differences, with the young learning faster. Another age-related difference was interpreted as showing a more insight-like learning process in the young. Response-bias (beta) values did not differ between groups. Age-related differences also emerged more clearly than specific-neurological-damage differences in the psychophysiological data. The older subjects manifested markedly less autonomic conditioning, which was probably due to a lowering of reactivity, as well as the emergence of habituation to the (loud-noise) unconditional stimulus. A correlational analysis of discrimination conditioning also yielded age-related differences. Most notably, reactivity played a greater role in conditioning in the old than in the young subjects. The results illustrated how psychophysiological measures can provide information that complements those provided by behavioral measures.
authors.affiliation: University of Wuppertal, Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Boucsein
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valentin
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Furedy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000503:physiopathology; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D011603:Psychophysiology