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Exploring the relationship between age, executive abilities, and psychomotor speed

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2000

BETH A. KEYS  and
DESIRÉE A. WHITE
BETH A. KEYS
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
DESIRÉE A. WHITE
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
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Abstract

Age-related declines in executive abilities have been widely reported and are thought to result from neuropathological changes in the prefrontal cortex. Some investigators have suggested that age-related changes in cognition may be the result of slowed information processing speed rather than declines in specific cognitive abilities. We examined the relationships among age, executive abilities, and psychomotor speed in 40 older adults and 46 young adults. Both verbal and nonverbal tasks were administered that measured 2 aspects of executive ability: set formation and set shifting. Executive and psychomotor speed tasks were paired based on similarities in basic task demands. Our results revealed that poorer executive performance was associated with increasing age. Further, although psychomotor speed attenuated the relationship, age accounted for a unique and significant proportion of variance in executive performance after controlling for psychomotor speed. These results suggest that age has an effect on prefrontally mediated executive abilities that cannot be explained solely in terms of psychomotor slowing. (JINS, 2000, 6, 76–82.)

Keywords

AgingExecutive abilityPsychomotor speedPrefrontal cortex
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , January 2000 , pp. 76 - 82
Copyright
© 2000 The International Neuropsychological Society

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