Identifying training modalities to improve multitasking in older adults

Studies that have measured the effects of attentional training have relied on a range of training formats, which may vary in their efficacy. In particular, it is unclear whether programs that practice dual-tasking are more effective in improving divided attention than programs focusing on flexible a...

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Main Authors:	Bier, Bianca, de Boysson, Chloé, Belleville, Sylvie
Format:	Online
Language:	English
Published:	Springer Netherlands 2014
Online Access:	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4150891/

id	pubmed-4150891
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	pubmed-41508912014-09-04 Identifying training modalities to improve multitasking in older adults Bier, Bianca de Boysson, Chloé Belleville, Sylvie Article Studies that have measured the effects of attentional training have relied on a range of training formats, which may vary in their efficacy. In particular, it is unclear whether programs that practice dual-tasking are more effective in improving divided attention than programs focusing on flexible allocation priority training. The aims of this study were as follows: (1) to compare the efficacy of different types of attentional training formats and (2) to assess transfer to distal measures. Forty-two healthy older adults were randomly assigned to one of three training groups. In the SINGLE training condition, participants practiced a visual detection and an alphanumeric equation task in isolation. In the FIXED training condition, participants practiced both tasks simultaneously with equal attention allocated to each. In the VARIABLE training condition, participants varied the attentional priority allocated to each task. After training, all participants improved their performance on the alphanumeric equation task when performed individually, including those in the SINGLE training condition. Participants in the FIXED training condition improved their divided attention, but only the participants in the VARIABLE training condition showed a greater capacity to vary their attentional priorities according to the instructions. Regarding transfer, all groups improved their performance on the 2-back condition, but only the VARIABLE and FIXED conditions resulted in better performance on the 1-back condition. Overall, the study supports the notion that attentional control capacities in older adults are plastic and can be improved with appropriate training and that the type of training determines its impact on divided attention. Springer Netherlands 2014-07-30 2014-08 /pmc/articles/PMC4150891/ /pubmed/25073453 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11357-014-9688-2 Text en © The Author(s) 2014 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.
repository_type	Open Access Journal
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	US National Center for Biotechnology Information
building	NCBI PubMed
collection	Online Access
language	English
format	Online
author	Bier, Bianca de Boysson, Chloé Belleville, Sylvie
spellingShingle	Bier, Bianca de Boysson, Chloé Belleville, Sylvie Identifying training modalities to improve multitasking in older adults
author_facet	Bier, Bianca de Boysson, Chloé Belleville, Sylvie
author_sort	Bier, Bianca
title	Identifying training modalities to improve multitasking in older adults
title_short	Identifying training modalities to improve multitasking in older adults
title_full	Identifying training modalities to improve multitasking in older adults
title_fullStr	Identifying training modalities to improve multitasking in older adults
title_full_unstemmed	Identifying training modalities to improve multitasking in older adults
title_sort	identifying training modalities to improve multitasking in older adults
description	Studies that have measured the effects of attentional training have relied on a range of training formats, which may vary in their efficacy. In particular, it is unclear whether programs that practice dual-tasking are more effective in improving divided attention than programs focusing on flexible allocation priority training. The aims of this study were as follows: (1) to compare the efficacy of different types of attentional training formats and (2) to assess transfer to distal measures. Forty-two healthy older adults were randomly assigned to one of three training groups. In the SINGLE training condition, participants practiced a visual detection and an alphanumeric equation task in isolation. In the FIXED training condition, participants practiced both tasks simultaneously with equal attention allocated to each. In the VARIABLE training condition, participants varied the attentional priority allocated to each task. After training, all participants improved their performance on the alphanumeric equation task when performed individually, including those in the SINGLE training condition. Participants in the FIXED training condition improved their divided attention, but only the participants in the VARIABLE training condition showed a greater capacity to vary their attentional priorities according to the instructions. Regarding transfer, all groups improved their performance on the 2-back condition, but only the VARIABLE and FIXED conditions resulted in better performance on the 1-back condition. Overall, the study supports the notion that attentional control capacities in older adults are plastic and can be improved with appropriate training and that the type of training determines its impact on divided attention.
publisher	Springer Netherlands
publishDate	2014
url	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4150891/
_version_	1613129882210926592

Identifying training modalities to improve multitasking in older adults

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