Expressive Suppression Depletes Executive Functioning in Older Adulthood

Objectives: Accurate detection of executive dysfunction in neuropsychological assessments is complicated by the fact that executive functioning (EF) is vulnerable to temporary disruption (i.e., lapses), with more frequent lapses in older adulthood. Effortful regulation of affect (i.e., expressive su...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 2017-04, Vol.23 (4), p.341-351
Main Authors: Franchow, E. I., Suchy, Yana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Cognitive Aging - physiology
Emotional regulation
Emotions - physiology
Executive function
Executive Function - physiology
Female
Humans
Inhibition (Psychology)
Male
Middle Aged
Older people
Young adults
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Summary:Objectives: Accurate detection of executive dysfunction in neuropsychological assessments is complicated by the fact that executive functioning (EF) is vulnerable to temporary disruption (i.e., lapses), with more frequent lapses in older adulthood. Effortful regulation of affect (i.e., expressive suppression) is a well-known source of executive lapses in younger adults, but the generalizability of this depleting effect to older adults is unknown. The purpose of this study was to (1) determine whether EF is subject to depletion via expressive suppression and (2) to examine whether this effect is unique to EF, or whether it also applies to lower-order component processes in older adults. Methods: Ninety-seven non-demented, community-dwelling older adults were randomly assigned to either an expressive suppression group or control group. We compared performance of the groups on a battery of tests measuring EF and component processes both before and after exposure to emotionally evocative stimuli. Results: Consistent with the hypothesized depletion effect, suppressing participants showed an attenuated practice effect on post-manipulation EF relative to controls, while performance on lower-order component processes was unaffected by suppression. Conclusions: These results suggest that depletion contributes to executive lapses in older adulthood. (JINS, 2017, 23, 341–351)
ISSN:1355-6177
1469-7661
DOI:10.1017/S1355617717000054