López-González Elissa, Caballero-Sánchez Ulises, Gómez-González Ixchel, Méndez-Díaz Mónica, Prospéro-García Oscar E, Ruiz-Contreras Alejandra E
Laboratorio de Neurogenómica Cognitiva, Unidad de Investigación de Psicobiología y Neurociencias, Coordinación de Psicobiología y Neurociencias, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico.
Laboratorio de Cannabinoides, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico.
Aging Clin Exp Res. 2025 May 28;37(1):174. doi: 10.1007/s40520-025-03059-8.
The global population of individuals aged 60 years and older now exceeds one billion and continues to grow, underscoring the necessity of addressing cognitive challenges associated with aging. The present study aimed to evaluate the enhancement and suppression of attentional mechanisms, as well as working memory efficiency (WME), across the adult lifespan. Additionally, it examined factors that may moderate these relationships. A total of 194 participants, aged between 20 and 80 years, completed questionnaires and participated in an experimental task designed to assess attentional mechanisms and WME. The results indicated that both enhancement and suppression mechanisms remained stable throughout adulthood; however, WME showed a decline with increasing age. Notwithstanding, several moderating variables influenced these outcomes. Cognitive reserve and current cognitive functioning were found to be positive predictors of WME, whereas depression and anxiety exerted negative effects. Furthermore, a low level of cognitive reserve uniquely predicted diminished suppression of irrelevant information with advancing age. WME was consistently lower across all ages among participants with high levels of depression, in contrast to those with low or moderate levels, in whom WME followed the expected age-related trajectory. Additionally, elevated anxiety levels and an average sleep duration of five hours were associated with reduced WME, particularly in relation to the enhancement mechanism. Conversely, low levels of depression were linked to improved WME via the enhancement mechanism. These findings underscore the importance of moderating factors that may mitigate cognitive decline or support cognitive functioning throughout the aging process.
全球60岁及以上的人口现已超过10亿，且仍在持续增长，这凸显了应对与衰老相关的认知挑战的必要性。本研究旨在评估整个成年期注意力机制的增强和抑制，以及工作记忆效率（WME）。此外，研究还考察了可能调节这些关系的因素。共有194名年龄在20岁至80岁之间的参与者完成了问卷调查，并参与了一项旨在评估注意力机制和WME的实验任务。结果表明，增强和抑制机制在整个成年期都保持稳定；然而，WME随着年龄的增长而下降。尽管如此，几个调节变量影响了这些结果。认知储备和当前的认知功能被发现是WME的正向预测因素，而抑郁和焦虑则产生负面影响。此外，低水平的认知储备独特地预测了随着年龄增长对无关信息抑制的减弱。与低水平或中等水平抑郁的参与者相比，高水平抑郁的参与者在所有年龄段的WME始终较低，低水平或中等水平抑郁的参与者的WME遵循预期的与年龄相关的轨迹。此外，焦虑水平升高和平均睡眠时间为5小时与WME降低有关，特别是在增强机制方面。相反，低水平的抑郁通过增强机制与改善的WME相关联。这些发现强调了调节因素的重要性，这些因素可能减轻认知衰退或在整个衰老过程中支持认知功能。
