May C P, Hasher L
Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, USA.
J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 1998 Apr;24(2):363-79. doi: 10.1037//0096-1523.24.2.363.
Two experiments explore whether synchrony between peak circadian arousal periods and time of testing influences inhibitory efficiency for younger and older adults. Experiment 1 assesses inhibitory control over no-longer-relevant thoughts, and Experiment 2 assesses control over unwanted but strong responses, as well as performance on neuropsychological tasks that index frontal function. Inhibitory control is greatest at optimal times for both age groups and is generally greater for younger than for older adults. Performance on 2 neuropsychological measures (Stroop and Trails) also changes over the day, at least for older adults, and is correlated with inhibitory indexes, suggesting that for older adults changes in inhibition may be mediated by circadian variations in frontal functioning. By contrast, access to well-learned responses is not vulnerable to synchrony or age effects.
两项实验探讨了昼夜节律兴奋高峰期与测试时间之间的同步性是否会影响年轻人和老年人的抑制效率。实验1评估对不再相关的想法的抑制控制，实验2评估对不必要但强烈的反应的控制，以及对指示额叶功能的神经心理学任务的表现。两个年龄组在最佳时间的抑制控制最强，且通常年轻人的抑制控制比老年人更强。至少对于老年人来说，两项神经心理学测量（斯特鲁普测试和连线测试）的表现也会在一天中发生变化，并且与抑制指标相关，这表明对于老年人而言，抑制的变化可能由额叶功能的昼夜节律变化介导。相比之下，对熟练掌握的反应的获取不受同步性或年龄效应的影响。
