Neuro-behavioral correlates of post-deviance distraction in middle-aged and old adults.

The presentation of a task-irrelevant deviant (novel) stimulus among otherwise repeated standard stimuli usually reduces performance not only for the deviant stimulus, but also for the standard following that deviant. Here, the so-called post-deviance distraction was investigated in 58 middle-aged and 52 old adults, using an auditory duration discrimination task and event-related potential (ERP) measures. After a deviant stimulus, the participants showed a decrease in performance in the subsequent standard stimulus. This effect was more pronounced in the old, than middle-aged, group. Relative to the standard stimuli preceding the deviant, post-deviant standards triggered a chain of mismatch negativity (MMN), P3a, and reorienting negativity (RON). While MMN and P3a did not differ in old and middle-aged adults, older participants showed a delayed RON. Assuming the RON to reflect processes of general task or feature reconfiguration and updating, these results suggest a delay in orienting-reorienting mechanisms as possible source of increased post-deviance distraction in elderly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)
Source: Journal of Psychophysiology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Source Type: research