VISUOSPATIAL ATTENTION AND PSYCHOMOTOR PERFORMANCE IN ELDERLY COMMUNITY RESIDENTS - EFFECTS OF AGE, GENDER, AND EDUCATION

In cross-sectional analysis of 1,799 subjects of the Paquid Research P rogram, an epidemiological study on brain aging conducted in the Borde aux area (France), we have studied the effects of age, gender, and edu cation level on psychometric tests requiring visuo-spatial focused att ention and psychomotor performance. Although previous studies suggest that normal aging produces no significant change in focused attention, we did observe lower attentional abilities and lower speed of executi on with increasing age. Female gender and low education level were als o related to poorer attention and psychomotor performance. As the effe cts of these individual factors are difficult to disentangle from each other on the small samples of subjects used in group studies, epidemi ological surveys seem useful to provide a better understanding of the neuropsychology of aging.