We seek to understand the psychological and biopsychological aspects of normal and pathological aging in terms of attention and attentional processes. We are also concerned with applying that knowledge to develop strategies for improving attentional and cognitive functioning. This year we report on an investigation into compensatory variations in sustained attention situations which result in disproportional improvements in performance in the elderly. A particularly powerful variation was the increase in exposure time of the stimuli-the elderly improved their performance while the young and middle-aged were unaffected by the increase in exposure time. We have also begun the development of an attention-switching functional test which will be used in our attempts to provide early markers of Alzheimer's Disease.
