认知老化中时间线索与准备间隔的影响

The Effects of Temporal Cues and Preparation Intervals in Cognitive Aging

摘要: 处理来自内部和外部的时间信息对个体的日常生活至关重要。但由内部和外部触发的时间预测能力是否以及如何随着年龄增长过程而变化，目前仍不清晰。目的：本研究旨在探究在不同时间信息背景和可变前期下，老化对时间预测能力的影响。方法：本研究采用包含十个不同的可变前期和两种线索条件(时间线索条件和中性线索条件)的反应时任务。在时间线索条件下，参与者会收到关于即将出现的目标的时间信息；而中性线索条件下，不提供任何时间信息。结果：在两种线索条件下，老年人的反应时都比年轻人慢。在时间线索条件下，老年人能够像年轻人一样利用时间信息加快反应。在中性线索条件下，随着可变前期的增加，两组被试都能优化他们的反应表现。结论：这些研究结果表明，尽管老年人反应速度较慢，但其时间准备机制可能仍得以保留。

Abstract: Processing temporal information from both internal and external sources is essential for our daily lives. However, it is still not well understood how the ability to predict time, triggered by internal and external cues, changes with aging. Objective: This study aimed to examine the impact of aging on temporal prediction processes across various contexts and different foreperiods. Methods: A reaction time task with ten different variable foreperiods and two cue conditions (temporal cue condition and neutral cue condition) was employed. In the temporal cue condition, participants received temporal information about the upcoming target; in the neutral cue condition, no temporal information was provided. Results: Older adults had slower reaction times than younger adults in both cue conditions. In the temporal cue condition, older adults were able to use temporal information to speed up their responses, similar to younger adults. In the neutral cue condition, both groups optimized their response performance as the variable foreperiods increased. Conclusion: These findings indicate that although older adults have slower reaction speeds, their temporal preparation mechanism may remain preserved.