Age-related inhibitory effects were investigated during spatial memory performance. In Experiment 1, 15 young (M = 20 years) and 16 old adults (M = 70 years) completed two spatial tasks (i.e., Block Suppression Test, Corsi Block Tapping Test) that differed in need for inhibitory processing. Accuracy differences within each task revealed age-related differences in spatial working memory and between task differences revealed that older adults had difficulty ignoring irrelevant items. Experiment 2 (10 young, 10 old adults) examined whether the distractibility of irrelevant items in the inhibition task (i.e. BST) accounted for the age-related inhibitory effects. Findings were largely consistent with the initial experiment indicating that inhibitory function was affected by adult aging.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uky.edu/oai:uknowledge.uky.edu:gradschool_theses-1405 |
| Date | 01 January 2006 |
| Creators | Lianekhammy, Joann |
| Publisher | UKnowledge |
| Source Sets | University of Kentucky |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | University of Kentucky Master's Theses |
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