Aleksandra Mańkowska1, Kenneth M Heilman2,3, John B Williamson3,4, Jarosław Michałowski5, Michał Harciarek1. 1. Division of Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, Department of the Social Sciences, University of Gdańsk , Gdansk , Poland. 2. Department of Neurology, University of Florida College of Medicine Gainesville , Gainesville , FL , USA. 3. Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Affairs Medical Center , Gainesville , FL , USA. 4. Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida , Gainesville , FL , USA. 5. Institute of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities , Poznań , Poland.
Abstract
Objectives: Leftward deviation on a horizontal line bisection test (pseudoneglect) might be induced by right hemispheric dominance for mediating spatial or global attention, or a hemispheric asymmetry in the ability to spatially disengage attention. With aging, this leftward bias is reduced, likely due to the aging-related deterioration of right hemisphere mediated functions (right hemi-aging) or hemispheric asymmetry reduction in old adults (HAROLD). Methods: Forty-seven healthy adults divided into younger and older groups performed a modified Posner spatial-attentional task. Results: Overall, younger individuals responded faster to left than right-sided imperative stimuli. In contrast, older participants did not reveal a right-left asymmetry to imperative stimuli. The younger group also revealed a strong inverse relationship between the reaction time to right valid cues and the leftward attentional bias while performing the line bisection task (pseudoneglect). Conclusions: Our results provide support for both the right hemisphere spatial-attentional dominance hypothesis of pseudoneglect and the right hemi-aging hypotheses.
Objectives: Leftward deviation on a horizontal line bisection test (pseudoneglect) might be induced by right hemispheric dominance for mediating spatial or global attention, or a hemispheric asymmetry in the ability to spatially disengage attention. With aging, this leftward bias is reduced, likely due to the aging-related deterioration of right hemisphere mediated functions (right hemi-aging) or hemispheric asymmetry reduction in old adults (HAROLD). Methods: Forty-seven healthy adults divided into younger and older groups performed a modified Posner spatial-attentional task. Results: Overall, younger individuals responded faster to left than right-sided imperative stimuli. In contrast, older participants did not reveal a right-left asymmetry to imperative stimuli. The younger group also revealed a strong inverse relationship between the reaction time to right valid cues and the leftward attentional bias while performing the line bisection task (pseudoneglect). Conclusions: Our results provide support for both the right hemisphere spatial-attentional dominance hypothesis of pseudoneglect and the right hemi-aging hypotheses.
Entities:
Keywords:
Posner task; Spatial attention; hemisphere asymmetry reduction (HAROLD); pseudoneglect; right hemisphere deterioration with aging (right hemi-aging)
Authors: Margaret Ellenora Wiggins; Catherine Dion; Erin Formanski; Anis Davoudi; Shawna Amini; Kenneth M Heilman; Dana Penney; Randall Davis; Cynthia W Garvan; George J Arnaoutakis; Patrick Tighe; David J Libon; Catherine C Price Journal: Explor Med Date: 2021-04-30