Various studies have shown that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with an impairment of inhibitory control, although we do not have a comprehensive understanding of the associated cognitive processes. The ability to engage and disengage attention is a crucial cognitive operation of inhibitory control and can be readily investigated using the “gap effect” in a saccadic eye movement paradigm. In previous work, various demographic factors were confounded; therefore, here, we examine separately the effects of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease, ethnicity/culture and age. This study included young (N = 44) and old (N = 96) European participants, AD (N = 32), mildly cognitively impaired participants (MCI: N = 47) and South Asian older adults (N = 94). A clear reduction in the mean reaction times was detected in all the participant groups in the gap condition compared to the overlap condition, confirming the effect. Importantly, this effect was also preserved in participants with MCI and AD. A strong effect of age was also evident, revealing a slowing in the disengagement of attention during the natural process of ageing.

中文翻译：

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视觉注意力的脱离：认知障碍，种族和年龄的眼动研究。

各种研究表明，尽管我们对相关的认知过程没有全面的了解，但阿尔茨海默氏病（AD）与抑制性控制障碍有关。吸引和脱离注意力的能力是抑制控制的关键认知操作，并且可以在眼球运动范例中使用“间隙效应”轻松地进行研究。在先前的工作中，各种人口因素被混淆了。因此，在这里，我们分别检查认知障碍对阿尔茨海默氏病，种族/文化和年龄的影响。这项研究包括年轻（N = 44）和老龄（N = 96）欧洲参与者，AD（N = 32），轻度认知障碍参与者（MCI：N= 47）和南亚老年人（N = 94）。与重叠条件相比，在间隙条件下所有参与者组的平均反应时间均明显减少，从而确认了效果。重要的是，这种影响在MCI和AD的参与者中也得以保留。年龄的强烈影响也很明显，揭示了在自然衰老过程中注意力分散的速度减慢。