Age-Related Changes in Interference Effects of Peripheral Stimulus

Abstract

We examined age-related changes in target identification when task-irrelevant stimulus was presented in the periphery. We measured choice reaction time (RT) for a Gabor patch (target) tilted right or left on the fixation while another Gabor patch (distractor) was simultaneously presented to the right or left of the target. The directions of the target and distractor were consistent or inconsistent. The distance between the centers of the target and distractor was 1.5, 3.0, or 4.5 degrees, and was fixed within a block of trials. Mean RTs in inconsistent conditions were longer than those in consistent conditions for older and younger adults. The difference between the mean RTs in the consistent and inconsistent conditions was greater for older adults than for younger adults when the distractor was presented in the closest distance. These results suggest that aging affects the inhibitory process of task-irrelevant stimuli.