title: Aging, focus switching, and task switching in a continuous calculation task: evidence toward a new working memory control process.
abstract: This study examined switching of the focus of attention in working memory in relation to global task switching in a continuous calculation task using two rules (midpoint and up-and-down) in a group of 25 younger adults and a group of 23 older adults. Age differences emerged in accuracy when participants worked on two strings simultaneously (necessitating a focus switch); focus switching did not interact with age in the response time domain. No age differences were obtained for global task switching. Ex-Gaussian decomposition showed a shift due to focus switching in all parameters, but a shift in leading edge only for task switching. The results suggest that task switching and focus switching rely on different processes, and that there is a specific age-related deficit in focus switching.
authors.affiliation: Syracuse University, New York, NY 13244-2340, USA. pverhaeg@psych.syr.edu
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Verhaeghen
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Hoyer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016011:Normal Distribution; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis