Citation

Briggs SD, Raz N, Marks W. Psychol. Aging 1999; 14(3): 427-435.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Tennessee 38152-6400, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, American Psychological Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10509697

Abstract

The authors investigated age-related slowing of information processing in mental imagery tasks. Eighty-five healthy adults (ages 18 to 77) performed a visual, sensorimotor, reaction-time task; a visual-perceptual choice reaction task; and 3 mental imagery tasks that varied in apparent difficulty and involved stimuli at 2 levels of graphic complexity. Age was associated with prolongation of response time across all tasks and both levels of stimulus complexity. Accuracy of response was adversely affected by increase in stimulus complexity in all tasks, whereas it was negatively related to age only on the tasks with substantial mental imagery requirements. Slowing of information processing and reduction in accuracy were mediated by declines in working memory but not by decrease of sensorimotor speed.

Language: en