Contribution of specific cognitive processes to executive functioning in an aging population.
The current study investigated executive function measures emphasizing Alpha Span (ASp) to understand relationships among executive and nonexecutive tasks. Nondemented older participants (N = 417) received a comprehensive cognitive battery. Age and vocabulary adjusted correlations revealed associations among ASp, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Revised (D. Wechsler, 1981) Digit Span subtests, and fluency tasks. Principal-components analysis with varimax rotation revealed a 4 component solution (86.4% of the variance) with executive variables contributing to all loadings. Calculated component indices were submitted to a regression analysis predicting ASp performance. After accounting for age (6.3% of the variance), Component 3 reflecting brief attention-mental manipulation accounted for 13.4% of ASp variance; Component 1, verbal language ability, 11.5%; Component 2, sustained attention-mental tracking, 1.9%; and Component 4, visuoperceptual spatial organization-planning, 0.9%. Results stress the importance of considering executive and nonexecutive aspects of cognition when conceptualizing executive functioning.
Lamar
Melissa
M
Laboratory of Personality and Cognition, Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA. lamarm@lpc.grc.nia.nih.gov
Zonderman
Alan B
AB
Resnick
Susan
S
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology