THE IMPACT OF AGING ON CURIOSITY AS MEASURED BY EXPLORATORY EYE-MOVEMENTS

Objective: To investigate changes in novelty-seeking behavior (curiosi ty) associated with normal aging. Background: Recently, we demonstrate d that patients with a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease displ ay diminished novelty-seeking behavior as measured by exploratory eye movements. Nondemented, elderly individuals are often depicted in clin ical descriptions as exhibiting diminished curiosity and increased dis engagement from their surroundings. However, this behavior has not bee n systematically investigated as a function of normal aging. Setting: University hospital center studying aging and dementia. Subjects: Four teen active, healthy elderly subjects (mean age, 72 years) and 16 midd le-aged subjects (mean age, 42 years) matched for education and estima ted IQ. Measures: Exploratory eye movements were recorded in response to visual stimuli that varied in novelty, complexity, and incongruity. Results: Both older and middle-aged subjects (1) spent significantly more time exploring the more irregular or incongruous of two simultane ously presented stimuli, (2) spent increasingly less time looking at a repeating visual stimulus paired with a stimulus that changed with ea ch trial, and (3) exhibited the same degree of overall exploration of a visual scene and devoted an approximately equal amount of attention to an unexpected element within it. As a group, older subjects spent s lightly less time than middle-aged subjects examining incongruous stim uli. However, 71% (10/14) of older subjects performed within 1 SD of t he mean of middle-aged subjects and 21% (3/14) performed as well as th e top 50% (8/16) of middle-aged controls. Conclusions: The drive for c uriosity, as measured by exploratory eye movements, can be well preser ved in older individuals. Further research is needed to determine if t he integrity of this drive can serve as a marker of ''successful aging '' and to identify which physiological and psychological factors influ ence its preservation through the life cycle.