A brain region that maintains its ability to process information throughout life and does not deteriorate with age has been discovered by researchers at the University of Adelaide
The research was conducted on 60 participants - the elderly aged 55-95 and the younger ones who were between 18 and 38 years of age. In order to compare their 'spatial attention' skills they were asked to respond to visual and non-visual stimuli . 'Spatial attention' is important for movements such as picking up objects, using tools, driving and walking.
Researchers blindfolded the participants and told them to touch wooden objects and find the middle of the object. According to lead study author Dr Joanna Brooks, the judgments of the participants were significantly biased towards the left-hand side of the true object centre. "This bias is subtle but highly consistent," Brooks said in a press release. "Both younger and older adults had the same responses for spatial attention tasks involving touch, sight or sound," she added.
Brooks further said the study findings showed that certain types of cognitive systems in the right cerebral hemisphere - like spatial attention - are 'encapsulated' and might not age. "Our studies have found that older and younger adults perform in a similar way on a range of visual and non-visual tasks that measure spatial attention," she explained.
Researchers said that the study findings challenge current models of cognitive aging, which show the right side of the brain is dominant for spatial processing the entire adult lifespan. "We now need to better understand how and why some areas of the brain seem to be more affected by aging than others," Brooks said.
The study findings are important as they might be helpful in shedding light on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.
The findings were presented at the 12th International Cognitive Neuroscience Conference in Brisbane.
