Does dual-task coordination performance decline in later life?

  1. María Victoria Sebastián 1
  2. Roberto Mediavilla 2
  1. 1 Universidad Complutense de Madrid
    info

    Universidad Complutense de Madrid

    Madrid, España

    ROR 02p0gd045

  2. 2 Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
    info

    Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia

    Madrid, España

    ROR https://ror.org/02msb5n36

Revista:
Psicothema

ISSN: 0214-9915

Any de publicació: 2017

Volum: 29

Número: 2

Pàgines: 223-228

Tipus: Article

DOI: 10.7334/PSICOTHEMA2016.274 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAccés obert editor

Altres publicacions en: Psicothema

Resum

Background: This cross-sectional study examined whether changes occur in people’s capacity to coordinate two simultaneous tasks (dual-task) when transitioning from adulthood to later life. The central executive, Baddeley’s working memory model component, is responsible for this coordination. Contradictory results have been reported regarding the relationship between ageing and dual-task performance; but these seem to be related to methodological issues that have been addressed in this study. Methods: Nine hundred and seventy-two participants, aged between 35 and 90 years old, volunteered to carry out a verbal digit span task, followed by single and concurrent (dual-task) tests: first, a box crossing task, then, the digit recall task in relation to their memory span, and finally, both these tests simultaneously. Results: We found no difference in people’s capacity to coordinate their attention when doing two tasks in adulthood or healthy later life, including those in the oldest age groups. Furthermore, gender and educational level were not related to dual-task performance. Conclusions: The results support the normal functioning of the central executive in very old people. These data contrast with research with patients suffering from different types of dementia, which show a decrease in their dual-task performance.

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This work was supported by Directorate General of Scientific and Technical Research of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (grant number BSO2003-0429). We would like to thank Dr. Virginia Navascues for her help with the English version.

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