Effect of Cognitive Control on Attentional Processing of Emotional Information Among Older Adults: Evidence From an Eye-Tracking Study
Background: Although numerous studies have suggested that the gradually increasing selective preference for positive information over negative information in older adults depends on cognitive control processes, few have reported the characteristics of different attention stages in the emotional proc...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-04-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2021.644379/full |
| _version_ | 1818958660455366656 |
|---|---|
| author | Haining Liu Haining Liu Haihong Liu Haihong Liu Feng Li Feng Li Buxin Han Buxin Han Cuili Wang |
| author_facet | Haining Liu Haining Liu Haihong Liu Haihong Liu Feng Li Feng Li Buxin Han Buxin Han Cuili Wang |
| author_sort | Haining Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Although numerous studies have suggested that the gradually increasing selective preference for positive information over negative information in older adults depends on cognitive control processes, few have reported the characteristics of different attention stages in the emotional processing of older individuals. The present study used a real-time eye-tracking technique to disentangle the attentional engagement and disengagement processes involved in age-related positivity effect (PE).Methods: Eye movement data from a spatial-cueing task were obtained for 32 older and 32 younger healthy participants. The spatial-cueing task with varied cognitive loads appeared to be an effective way to explore the role of cognitive control during the attention engagement and disengagement stages of emotion processing.Results: Compared with younger adults, older participants showed more positive gaze preferences when cognitive resources were sufficient for face processing at the attention engagement stage. However, the age-related PE was not observed at the attention disengagement stage because older adults had more difficulty disengaging from fearful faces than did the younger adults due to the consumption of attention by the explicit target judgment.Conclusion: The present study highlights how cognitive control moderates positive gaze preferences at different attention processing stages. These findings may have far-reaching implications for understanding, preventing, and intervening in unsuccessful aging and, thus, in promoting active and healthy aging. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T11:29:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1d87558e3e5e48c8a8f8e98429202dba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1663-4365 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T11:29:17Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-1d87558e3e5e48c8a8f8e98429202dba2022-12-21T19:42:17ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience1663-43652021-04-011310.3389/fnagi.2021.644379644379Effect of Cognitive Control on Attentional Processing of Emotional Information Among Older Adults: Evidence From an Eye-Tracking StudyHaining Liu0Haining Liu1Haihong Liu2Haihong Liu3Feng Li4Feng Li5Buxin Han6Buxin Han7Cuili Wang8Psychology Department, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, ChinaHebei Key Laboratory of Nerve Injury and Repair, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, ChinaPsychology Department, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, ChinaCentre for Research in Psychology and Human Well Being Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, The National University of Malaysia, Bangi, MalaysiaSchool of Statistics, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, ChinaResearch Center of Applied Statistics, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, ChinaUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaSchool of Nursing, Peking University, Beijing, ChinaBackground: Although numerous studies have suggested that the gradually increasing selective preference for positive information over negative information in older adults depends on cognitive control processes, few have reported the characteristics of different attention stages in the emotional processing of older individuals. The present study used a real-time eye-tracking technique to disentangle the attentional engagement and disengagement processes involved in age-related positivity effect (PE).Methods: Eye movement data from a spatial-cueing task were obtained for 32 older and 32 younger healthy participants. The spatial-cueing task with varied cognitive loads appeared to be an effective way to explore the role of cognitive control during the attention engagement and disengagement stages of emotion processing.Results: Compared with younger adults, older participants showed more positive gaze preferences when cognitive resources were sufficient for face processing at the attention engagement stage. However, the age-related PE was not observed at the attention disengagement stage because older adults had more difficulty disengaging from fearful faces than did the younger adults due to the consumption of attention by the explicit target judgment.Conclusion: The present study highlights how cognitive control moderates positive gaze preferences at different attention processing stages. These findings may have far-reaching implications for understanding, preventing, and intervening in unsuccessful aging and, thus, in promoting active and healthy aging.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2021.644379/fullcognitive controlattentionemotionpositivity effecteye-tracking |
| spellingShingle | Haining Liu Haining Liu Haihong Liu Haihong Liu Feng Li Feng Li Buxin Han Buxin Han Cuili Wang Effect of Cognitive Control on Attentional Processing of Emotional Information Among Older Adults: Evidence From an Eye-Tracking Study Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience cognitive control attention emotion positivity effect eye-tracking |
| title | Effect of Cognitive Control on Attentional Processing of Emotional Information Among Older Adults: Evidence From an Eye-Tracking Study |
| title_full | Effect of Cognitive Control on Attentional Processing of Emotional Information Among Older Adults: Evidence From an Eye-Tracking Study |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Cognitive Control on Attentional Processing of Emotional Information Among Older Adults: Evidence From an Eye-Tracking Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Cognitive Control on Attentional Processing of Emotional Information Among Older Adults: Evidence From an Eye-Tracking Study |
| title_short | Effect of Cognitive Control on Attentional Processing of Emotional Information Among Older Adults: Evidence From an Eye-Tracking Study |
| title_sort | effect of cognitive control on attentional processing of emotional information among older adults evidence from an eye tracking study |
| topic | cognitive control attention emotion positivity effect eye-tracking |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2021.644379/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hainingliu effectofcognitivecontrolonattentionalprocessingofemotionalinformationamongolderadultsevidencefromaneyetrackingstudy AT hainingliu effectofcognitivecontrolonattentionalprocessingofemotionalinformationamongolderadultsevidencefromaneyetrackingstudy AT haihongliu effectofcognitivecontrolonattentionalprocessingofemotionalinformationamongolderadultsevidencefromaneyetrackingstudy AT haihongliu effectofcognitivecontrolonattentionalprocessingofemotionalinformationamongolderadultsevidencefromaneyetrackingstudy AT fengli effectofcognitivecontrolonattentionalprocessingofemotionalinformationamongolderadultsevidencefromaneyetrackingstudy AT fengli effectofcognitivecontrolonattentionalprocessingofemotionalinformationamongolderadultsevidencefromaneyetrackingstudy AT buxinhan effectofcognitivecontrolonattentionalprocessingofemotionalinformationamongolderadultsevidencefromaneyetrackingstudy AT buxinhan effectofcognitivecontrolonattentionalprocessingofemotionalinformationamongolderadultsevidencefromaneyetrackingstudy AT cuiliwang effectofcognitivecontrolonattentionalprocessingofemotionalinformationamongolderadultsevidencefromaneyetrackingstudy |