In 50 young and middle-aged adults, cognitive tasks involving inhibition control elicited transient cardiac Pre-Ejection Period reactivity that decreased with time on task and repetition.
Observational (n=50)
Does age affect cardiac Pre-Ejection Period (PEP) reactivity during cognitive tasks involving inhibition control?
Cardiac Pre-Ejection Period (PEP) reactivity during cognitive tasks shows characteristics of habituation and sensitization, decreasing with time on task and repetition, but is not affected by age.
This study investigated the dynamics of cardiac reactivity during the performance of three cognitive tasks involving various levels of inhibition control in young and middle-aged adults. Twenty-eight young adults (18-27 years) and twenty-two middle-aged adults (55-65 years) performed variations of a flanker task involving neutral, congruent, incongruent and No-Go trials, while their cardiovascular parameters (heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac Pre-Ejection Period: PEP) were recorded. Specifically, each task was repeated twice and we examined variations of PEP and PEP reactivity as a function of time on task and task repetition. The results revealed that PEP reactivity was shown to be a transient phenomenon, decreasing both over the course of each task (only significant during the first minute) and across repeated sessions. PEP reactivity was related to cognitive load, albeit not in a linear fashion, but was not clearly related to cognitive performance. Age-related effects were demonstrated for cognitive performance as well as resting and task PEP values, but not for PEP reactivity. It is concluded that PEP reactivity showed characteristics of habituation and sensitization that are discussed in light of the theory of dual-process habituation and the model of effort and cardiovascular response. • Cardiac Pre-Ejection Period (PEP) is a measure of SNS activity in the heart • PEP reactivity is thought to reflect effort investment in cognitive performance • PEP reactivity decreased with time on task and task repetition • PEP reactivity was somewhat related to cognitive load but not to performance • Age affected cognitive performance but not PEP reactivity • PEP reactivity showed characteristics of habituation and sensitization
Albinet et al. (Wed,) reported a observational. Cognitive tasks (flanker task variations) vs. Age group comparison (young vs middle-aged) was evaluated on Variations of cardiac Pre-Ejection Period (PEP) and PEP reactivity. In 50 young and middle-aged adults, cognitive tasks involving inhibition control elicited transient cardiac Pre-Ejection Period reactivity that decreased with time on task and repetition.