The Relative Contribution of Executive Functions and Aging on Attentional Control During Road Crossing

As we age, many physical, perceptual and cognitive abilities decline, which can critically impact our day-to-day lives. However, the decline of many abilities is concurrent; thus, it is challenging to disentangle the relative contributions of different abilities in the performance deterioration in r...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Victoria I. Nicholls, Jan M. Wiener, Andrew Isaac Meso, Sebastien Miellet
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.912446/full
_version_ 1817988584161935360
author Victoria I. Nicholls
Victoria I. Nicholls
Jan M. Wiener
Andrew Isaac Meso
Sebastien Miellet
author_facet Victoria I. Nicholls
Victoria I. Nicholls
Jan M. Wiener
Andrew Isaac Meso
Sebastien Miellet
author_sort Victoria I. Nicholls
collection DOAJ
description As we age, many physical, perceptual and cognitive abilities decline, which can critically impact our day-to-day lives. However, the decline of many abilities is concurrent; thus, it is challenging to disentangle the relative contributions of different abilities in the performance deterioration in realistic tasks, such as road crossing, with age. Research into road crossing has shown that aging and a decline in executive functioning (EFs) is associated with altered information sampling and less safe crossing decisions compared to younger adults. However, in these studies declines in age and EFs were confounded. Therefore, it is impossible to disentangle whether age-related declines in EFs impact on visual sampling and road-crossing performance, or whether visual exploration, and road-crossing performance, are impacted by aging independently of a decline in EFs. In this study, we recruited older adults with maintained EFs to isolate the impacts of aging independently of a decline EFs on road crossing abilities. We recorded eye movements of younger adults and older adults while they watched videos of road traffic and were asked to decide when they could cross the road. Overall, our results show that older adults with maintained EFs sample visual information and make similar road crossing decisions to younger adults. Our findings also reveal that both environmental constraints and EF abilities interact with aging to influence how the road-crossing task is performed. Our findings suggest that older pedestrians' safety, and independence in day-to-day life, can be improved through a limitation of scene complexity and a preservation of EF abilities.
first_indexed 2024-04-14T00:36:50Z
format Article
id doaj.art-5e36614b65474f0995b84691b98d25a0
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1664-1078
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-14T00:36:50Z
publishDate 2022-05-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Psychology
spelling doaj.art-5e36614b65474f0995b84691b98d25a02022-12-22T02:22:21ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-05-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.912446912446The Relative Contribution of Executive Functions and Aging on Attentional Control During Road CrossingVictoria I. Nicholls0Victoria I. Nicholls1Jan M. Wiener2Andrew Isaac Meso3Sebastien Miellet4Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomAgeing and Dementia Research Centre, Bournemouth University, Poole, United KingdomAgeing and Dementia Research Centre, Bournemouth University, Poole, United KingdomNeuroimaging Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United KingdomSchool of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, AustraliaAs we age, many physical, perceptual and cognitive abilities decline, which can critically impact our day-to-day lives. However, the decline of many abilities is concurrent; thus, it is challenging to disentangle the relative contributions of different abilities in the performance deterioration in realistic tasks, such as road crossing, with age. Research into road crossing has shown that aging and a decline in executive functioning (EFs) is associated with altered information sampling and less safe crossing decisions compared to younger adults. However, in these studies declines in age and EFs were confounded. Therefore, it is impossible to disentangle whether age-related declines in EFs impact on visual sampling and road-crossing performance, or whether visual exploration, and road-crossing performance, are impacted by aging independently of a decline in EFs. In this study, we recruited older adults with maintained EFs to isolate the impacts of aging independently of a decline EFs on road crossing abilities. We recorded eye movements of younger adults and older adults while they watched videos of road traffic and were asked to decide when they could cross the road. Overall, our results show that older adults with maintained EFs sample visual information and make similar road crossing decisions to younger adults. Our findings also reveal that both environmental constraints and EF abilities interact with aging to influence how the road-crossing task is performed. Our findings suggest that older pedestrians' safety, and independence in day-to-day life, can be improved through a limitation of scene complexity and a preservation of EF abilities.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.912446/fullvisual attentioneye movementsscene perceptionagingpedestrian safetyexecutive functions
spellingShingle Victoria I. Nicholls
Victoria I. Nicholls
Jan M. Wiener
Andrew Isaac Meso
Sebastien Miellet
The Relative Contribution of Executive Functions and Aging on Attentional Control During Road Crossing
Frontiers in Psychology
visual attention
eye movements
scene perception
aging
pedestrian safety
executive functions
title The Relative Contribution of Executive Functions and Aging on Attentional Control During Road Crossing
title_full The Relative Contribution of Executive Functions and Aging on Attentional Control During Road Crossing
title_fullStr The Relative Contribution of Executive Functions and Aging on Attentional Control During Road Crossing
title_full_unstemmed The Relative Contribution of Executive Functions and Aging on Attentional Control During Road Crossing
title_short The Relative Contribution of Executive Functions and Aging on Attentional Control During Road Crossing
title_sort relative contribution of executive functions and aging on attentional control during road crossing
topic visual attention
eye movements
scene perception
aging
pedestrian safety
executive functions
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.912446/full
work_keys_str_mv AT victoriainicholls therelativecontributionofexecutivefunctionsandagingonattentionalcontrolduringroadcrossing
AT victoriainicholls therelativecontributionofexecutivefunctionsandagingonattentionalcontrolduringroadcrossing
AT janmwiener therelativecontributionofexecutivefunctionsandagingonattentionalcontrolduringroadcrossing
AT andrewisaacmeso therelativecontributionofexecutivefunctionsandagingonattentionalcontrolduringroadcrossing
AT sebastienmiellet therelativecontributionofexecutivefunctionsandagingonattentionalcontrolduringroadcrossing
AT victoriainicholls relativecontributionofexecutivefunctionsandagingonattentionalcontrolduringroadcrossing
AT victoriainicholls relativecontributionofexecutivefunctionsandagingonattentionalcontrolduringroadcrossing
AT janmwiener relativecontributionofexecutivefunctionsandagingonattentionalcontrolduringroadcrossing
AT andrewisaacmeso relativecontributionofexecutivefunctionsandagingonattentionalcontrolduringroadcrossing
AT sebastienmiellet relativecontributionofexecutivefunctionsandagingonattentionalcontrolduringroadcrossing