title: Characterizing cognitive inhibitory deficits in mild cognitive impairment.
abstract: Individuals with mild cognitive impairment -MCI- show relative weaknesses in executive functioning (EF), as well as poor memory, but the inhibition-related mechanisms behind EF impairment in MCI have not been examined systematically. The aim of the present study was to systematically investigate inhibitory function in individuals with MCI to ascertain whether pathological aging is characterized by deficits in inhibitory processes and whether such impairment is confined to specific inhibition-related mechanisms. Tasks assessing inhibition-related functions - i.e. prepotent response inhibition (measured with the Color Stroop test), response to distracters (assessed using a text with distracters task), and resistance to proactive interference (assessed with a proactive interference task) - were administered to individuals with MCI and to healthy older controls. Individuals with MCI made more intrusion errors in the proactive interference task than controls, while the two groups' performance was comparable in prepotent response inhibition and response to distracters. This pattern of findings suggests that MCI is associated with specific inhibition problems.ty.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology University of Padova, Via Venezia, 8, 35131 Padova, Italy. Electronic address: erika.borella@unipd.it.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Borella
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology University of Padova, Via Venezia, 8, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Carretti
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology University of Padova, Via Venezia, 8, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Micaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mitolo
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology University of Padova, Via Venezia, 8, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zavagnin
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caffarra
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Science, University of Chieti and Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mammarella
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Science, University of Chieti and Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fairfield
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Università Suor Orsola Benincasa, Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gamboz
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuropsychiatry, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Piras
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011334:Proactive Inhibition; D011594:Psychometrics; D057190:Stroop Test
keywords: Aging; Inhibitory functions; Intrusion errors; MCI; Proactive interference