Age, Executive Functions, and Visuospatial Functioning in Healthy Older Adults

David J. Libon; Guila Glosser; Barbara L. Malamut; Edith Kaplan; Elkhonon Goldberg; Rodney Swenson; Laura Prouty Sands

doi:10.1037/0894-4105.8.1.38

Age, Executive Functions, and Visuospatial Functioning in Healthy Older Adults

David J. Libon, Guila Glosser, Barbara L. Malamut, Edith Kaplan, Elkhonon Goldberg, Rodney Swenson, Laura Prouty Sands

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

87 Scopus citations

Abstract

Visuospatial test performance declines with age, whereas verbal test performance remains fairly constant. This pattern has been attributed to an age-related decline in either right-hemisphere functioning or executive functions (EF), which may be associated with prefrontal cortical decline. We administered timed and untimed EF tests and visuospatial tests requiring substantial integrative skill (I-VS) or little or no integrative skill (non-I-VS) to young-old (74 and younger) and old-old (75 and older) healthy volunteers. Groups differed on I-VS tests and on many EF tests but not on non-I-VS tests. I-VS tests correlated highly with tests of executive functions, but non-I-VS tests did not. These results are interpreted as supporting the proposal that an age-related decline in EF underlies the decline in visuospatial test performance observed with advancing age. Other issues regarding the relationship between age and EF are discussed.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	38-43
Number of pages	6
Journal	Neuropsychology
Volume	8
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/0894-4105.8.1.38
State	Published - Jan 1994
Externally published	Yes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology

Access to Document

10.1037/0894-4105.8.1.38

Cite this

@article{889f257b4b984ca9b7b387c1bb74b622,

title = "Age, Executive Functions, and Visuospatial Functioning in Healthy Older Adults",

abstract = "Visuospatial test performance declines with age, whereas verbal test performance remains fairly constant. This pattern has been attributed to an age-related decline in either right-hemisphere functioning or executive functions (EF), which may be associated with prefrontal cortical decline. We administered timed and untimed EF tests and visuospatial tests requiring substantial integrative skill (I-VS) or little or no integrative skill (non-I-VS) to young-old (74 and younger) and old-old (75 and older) healthy volunteers. Groups differed on I-VS tests and on many EF tests but not on non-I-VS tests. I-VS tests correlated highly with tests of executive functions, but non-I-VS tests did not. These results are interpreted as supporting the proposal that an age-related decline in EF underlies the decline in visuospatial test performance observed with advancing age. Other issues regarding the relationship between age and EF are discussed.",

author = "Libon, {David J.} and Guila Glosser and Malamut, {Barbara L.} and Edith Kaplan and Elkhonon Goldberg and Rodney Swenson and {Prouty Sands}, Laura",

year = "1994",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1037/0894-4105.8.1.38",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "8",

pages = "38--43",

journal = "Neuropsychology",

issn = "0894-4105",

publisher = "American Psychological Association",

number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Age, Executive Functions, and Visuospatial Functioning in Healthy Older Adults

AU - Libon, David J.

AU - Glosser, Guila

AU - Malamut, Barbara L.

AU - Kaplan, Edith

AU - Goldberg, Elkhonon

AU - Swenson, Rodney

AU - Prouty Sands, Laura

PY - 1994/1

Y1 - 1994/1

N2 - Visuospatial test performance declines with age, whereas verbal test performance remains fairly constant. This pattern has been attributed to an age-related decline in either right-hemisphere functioning or executive functions (EF), which may be associated with prefrontal cortical decline. We administered timed and untimed EF tests and visuospatial tests requiring substantial integrative skill (I-VS) or little or no integrative skill (non-I-VS) to young-old (74 and younger) and old-old (75 and older) healthy volunteers. Groups differed on I-VS tests and on many EF tests but not on non-I-VS tests. I-VS tests correlated highly with tests of executive functions, but non-I-VS tests did not. These results are interpreted as supporting the proposal that an age-related decline in EF underlies the decline in visuospatial test performance observed with advancing age. Other issues regarding the relationship between age and EF are discussed.

AB - Visuospatial test performance declines with age, whereas verbal test performance remains fairly constant. This pattern has been attributed to an age-related decline in either right-hemisphere functioning or executive functions (EF), which may be associated with prefrontal cortical decline. We administered timed and untimed EF tests and visuospatial tests requiring substantial integrative skill (I-VS) or little or no integrative skill (non-I-VS) to young-old (74 and younger) and old-old (75 and older) healthy volunteers. Groups differed on I-VS tests and on many EF tests but not on non-I-VS tests. I-VS tests correlated highly with tests of executive functions, but non-I-VS tests did not. These results are interpreted as supporting the proposal that an age-related decline in EF underlies the decline in visuospatial test performance observed with advancing age. Other issues regarding the relationship between age and EF are discussed.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0001833497&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0001833497&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1037/0894-4105.8.1.38

DO - 10.1037/0894-4105.8.1.38

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:0001833497

SN - 0894-4105

VL - 8

SP - 38

EP - 43

JO - Neuropsychology

JF - Neuropsychology

IS - 1

ER -

Age, Executive Functions, and Visuospatial Functioning in Healthy Older Adults

Abstract

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this