The effects of age and mood on saccadic function in older individuals

To investigate the effect of age and mood on saccadic function, we recorded prosaccades, predictive saccades, and antisaccades from 238 cognitively no rmal, physically healthy volunteers aged 44 to 85 years old. Mood levels we re measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Center for Epidemio logical Studies Depression Scale inventories. Small, bat significant, posit ive relationships with age were observed for the mean latency and associate d variability of latency for all types of saccades, as well as the antisacc ade error rate. Saccade velocity or accuracy was unaffected by age. Increas ing levels of depression had a minor negative influence on the antisaccade latency, whereas increasing levels of anxiety raised the antisaccade error rate marginally.