Prosaccade errors in the antisaccade task: differences between corrected and uncorrected errors and links to neuropsychological tests

The relations among spatial memory, Stroop-like colour-word subtests, and errors on antisaccade and memory-guided saccadic eye-movement trials for older and younger adults were tested. Two types of errors in the antisaccade task were identified: short latency prosaccade errors that were immediately corrected and longer latency uncorrected prosaccade errors. The age groups did not differ on percentages of either corrected or uncorrected errors, but the latency and time to correct prosaccade errors were shorter for younger than older adults. Uncorrected prosaccade errors correlated significantly with spatial memory accuracy and errors on the colour-word subtests, but neither of these neuropsychological indices correlated with corrected prosaccade errors. These findings suggest that uncorrected prosaccade errors may be a result of cognitive factors involving a failure to maintain the goal of the antisaccade task in working memory. In contrast, corrected errors may be a consequence of a fixation system involving an initial failure to inhibit a reflexive prosaccade but with active goal maintenance enabling correction to take place

Staying in touch with the community : understanding self-reported health and research priorities in older Aboriginal Australians

Objectives: Aboriginal Australians experience higher rates of non-communicable chronic disease, injury, dementia, and mortality than non-Aboriginal Australians. Self-reported health is a holistic measure and may fit well with Aboriginal views of health and well-being. This study aimed to identify predictors of self-reported health in older Aboriginal Australians and determine acceptable research methodologies for future aging research. Design: Longitudinal, population-based study. Setting: Five communities across New South Wales, Australia (two urban and three regional sites). Participants: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (n = 227; 60-88 years, M = 66.06, SD = 5.85; 145 female). Measurements: Participants completed baseline (demographic, medical, cognitive, mental health, and social factors) and follow-up assessments (self-reported health quantified with 5-point scale; sharing thoughts on areas important for future research). Predictors of self-reported health were examined using logistic regression analyses. Results: Self-reported health was associated with sex, activities of daily living, social activity participation, resilience, alcohol use, kidney problems, arthritis, falls, and recent hospitalization. Arthritis, kidney problems, and resilience remained significant in multiple logistic regression models. Conclusions: Perceived resilience and the absence of certain chronic age-related conditions predict older Aboriginal peoples' self-reported health. Understanding these factors could inform interventions to improve well-being. Findings on acceptable research methodologies suggest that many older Aboriginal people would embrace a range of methodologies within long-standing research partnerships, which is an important consideration for Indigenous population research internationally