IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0107808.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effect of Speed of Processing Training on Microsaccade Amplitude

Author

Listed:
  • Stephen Layfield
  • Wesley Burge
  • William Mitchell
  • Lesley Ross
  • Christine Denning
  • Frank Amthor
  • Kristina Visscher

Abstract

Older adults experience cognitive deficits that can lead to driving errors and a loss of mobility. Fortunately, some of these deficits can be ameliorated with targeted interventions which improve the speed and accuracy of simultaneous attention to a central and a peripheral stimulus called Speed of Processing training. To date, the mechanisms behind this effective training are unknown. We hypothesized that one potential mechanism underlying this training is a change in distribution of eye movements of different amplitudes. Microsaccades are small amplitude eye movements made when fixating on a stimulus, and are thought to counteract the “visual fading” that occurs when static stimuli are presented. Due to retinal anatomy, larger microsaccadic eye movements are needed to move a peripheral stimulus between receptive fields and counteract visual fading. Alternatively, larger microsaccades may decrease performance due to neural suppression. Because larger microsaccades could aid or hinder peripheral vision, we examine the distribution of microsaccades during stimulus presentation. Our results indicate that there is no statistically significant change in the proportion of large amplitude microsaccades during a Useful Field of View-like task after training in a small sample of older adults. Speed of Processing training does not appear to result in changes in microsaccade amplitude, suggesting that the mechanism underlying Speed of Processing training is unlikely to rely on microsaccades.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Layfield & Wesley Burge & William Mitchell & Lesley Ross & Christine Denning & Frank Amthor & Kristina Visscher, 2014. "The Effect of Speed of Processing Training on Microsaccade Amplitude," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(9), pages 1-6, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0107808
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0107808
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0107808
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0107808&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0107808?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stephanie J. Fonda & Robert B. Wallace & A. Regula Herzog, 2001. "Changes in Driving Patterns and Worsening Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 56(6), pages 343-351.
    2. Lesley A. Ross & Olivio J. Clay & Jerri D. Edwards & Karlene K. Ball & Virginia G. Wadley & David E. Vance & Gayla M. Cissell & Daniel L. Roenker & John J. Joyce, 2009. "Do Older Drivers At-Risk for Crashes Modify Their Driving Over Time?," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 64(2), pages 163-170.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Keisuke Itotani & Ippei Suganuma & Hiroyuki Fujita, 2022. "Are the Physical and Cognitive Functions of Older Adults Affected by Having a Driver’s License?—A Pilot Study of Suburban Dwellers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-9, April.
    2. Satonori Nasu & Yu Ishibashi & Junichi Ikuta & Shingo Yamane & Ryuji Kobayashi, 2022. "Reliability and Validity of the Japanese Version of the Assessment of Readiness for Mobility Transition (ARMT-J) for Japanese Elderly," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-14, October.
    3. Shiho Amagasa & Noritoshi Fukushima & Hiroyuki Kikuchi & Tomoko Takamiya & Yuko Odagiri & Koichiro Oka & Shigeru Inoue, 2018. "Drivers Are More Physically Active Than Non-Drivers in Older Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-12, May.
    4. Haustein, Sonja & Siren, Anu, 2014. "Seniors’ unmet mobility needs – how important is a driving licence?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 45-52.
    5. Israel Schwarzlose, Alicia A. & Mjelde, James W. & Dudensing, Rebekka M. & Jin, Yanhong & Cherrington, Linda K. & Chen, Junyi, 2014. "Willingness to pay for public transportation options for improving the quality of life of the rural elderly," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 1-14.
    6. Susanne Nordbakke & Tim Schwanen, 2015. "Transport, unmet activity needs and wellbeing in later life: exploring the links," Transportation, Springer, vol. 42(6), pages 1129-1151, November.
    7. MacLeod, Kara E & Geyer, Judy A & Satariano, William A & Ragland, David R, 2004. "The Association Between Health Problems and Driver Status Among Older Adults," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt0cg491m7, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    8. Noland, Robert B., 2013. "From theory to practice in road safety policy: Understanding risk versus mobility," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 71-84.
    9. Andrew Schouten & Martin Wachs & Evelyn A. Blumenberg & Hannah R. King, 2022. "Cohort analysis of driving cessation and limitation among older adults," Transportation, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 841-865, June.
    10. Hansen, Stine & Newbold, K. Bruce & Scott, Darren M. & Vrkljan, Brenda & Grenier, Amanda, 2020. "To drive or not to drive: Driving cessation amongst older adults in rural and small towns in Canada," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    11. Sijun Shen & Marizen Ramirez & Cara J. Hamann & Nichole Morris & Corinne Peek-Asa & Motao Zhu, 2021. "The Associations Between Older Driver Licensure Laws with Travel and Passenger Behaviors Among Adults Aged 65 Years or Older (United States, 2003–2017)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-10, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0107808. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.