Response Inhibition Processing between Young and Older Adults

Human brain aging is a complex process, involving changes in anatomy, physiology and cognition. The process which actively suppresses task-irrelevant response for task-appropriate responses is referred as response inhibition. Older adults have particular deficiencies in the inhibitory attentional control mechanisms that serve to prevent or stop the processing of task-irrelevant stimuli (i.e., distraction). The present study examined differences in the performance of the young and older adults on tasks evaluating response inhibition by using a distracter-response binding flanker task. The sample comprised of 10 young (Age range: 18-35 years) and 10 older adults (Age range: 55-65 years) and the responses of the participants were taken across congruent and incongruent conditions. Results were discussed in terms of accuracy and reaction time measures for young and older adults. ANOVA was performed to investigate whether there was a significant difference in response inhibition between young and older adults.