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Differential age-related changes in localizing a target among distractors across an extended visual field

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Abstract

Age differences in the spatial distribution of attention over a wide field of view have only been described in terms of the spatial extent, leaving the topographical aspect unexplored. This study examined age differences between younger and older adults in good general health in an important topographical characteristic, the asymmetry between the upper and lower visual fields. In Experiment 1, we found age differences across the entire attentional visual field. In addition, age differences were greater in the upper compared to the lower field. In Experiment 2, we examined whether the finding of a greater age difference in the ability to localize a target among distractors in the upper visual field in Experiment 1 was a result of possible differential age differences between the upper and lower visual fields in the ability to localize a target even when there was no distractor competing for attention. Our results suggested that the age differences we observed were linked to age differences in the ability to filter out distractors that compete with the target for attention rather than the ability to process only the target over a wide field of view. While younger adults demonstrated an upper visual field advantage in the ability to localize a target among distractors, there was no such field advantage in older adults. We discuss this finding of diminished upper visual field advantage in older adults in light of an account of pervasive loss of neural specialization with age. We postulate that one possible explanation of age differences in the asymmetry between the upper and lower visual fields may be an adaptation to age-related physical decline. We also discuss important implications of our findings in risks of falls and vehicle crashes.

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Acknowledgments

Experiment 1 was completed when Dr. Jing Feng was a postdoctoral fellow at the Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Center for Geriatric Care. Experiment 2 was conducted in North Carolina State University. Dr. Gary Naglie is supported by the George, Margaret and Gary Hunt Family Chair in Geriatric Medicine, University of Toronto.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, 2310 Stinson Drive, Raleigh, NC, 27695-7650, USA

    Jing Feng & HeeSun Choi

  2. Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Canada

    Fergus I. M. Craik, Brian Levine, Sylvain Moreno & Gary Naglie

  3. Center for Brain Fitness, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Canada

    Sylvain Moreno

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Fergus I. M. Craik, Brian Levine & Sylvain Moreno

  5. Department of Medicine, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Canada

    Gary Naglie

  6. Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Gary Naglie

  7. Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Gary Naglie

Authors
  1. Jing Feng
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  2. Fergus I. M. Craik
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  3. Brian Levine
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  4. Sylvain Moreno
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  5. Gary Naglie
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  6. HeeSun Choi
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Correspondence to Jing Feng.

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Responsible editor: H.-W. Wahl.

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Feng, J., Craik, F.I.M., Levine, B. et al. Differential age-related changes in localizing a target among distractors across an extended visual field. Eur J Ageing 14, 167–177 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-016-0399-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-016-0399-7

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