Modified MDOR task - effect of normal ageing on performance

In
the minimally delayed oculomotor response (MDOR) task, participants are
presented with a simple visual target step with variable target display
duration (TDD), and instructed to saccade to the target not when it appears (a
prosaccade response), but when it disappears (i.e. on target offset). We used
a modified MDOR task, in which participants were presented with static placeholders
identifying potential target positions, and
three TDDs rather than two. In 28 older (mean±SD age: 65±7y)
and 25
younger (26±7y) participants the total overall error rate was higher in
the older group (30±18% vs 16±11%). The latency of correct responses (to offsets) was significantly increased in
the older group. Data is shown for 24
participants (15 old, 9 young) who completed both versions of the MDOR task (modified 3TDD vs original 2TDD).