Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33772477›Full record

SynthesisPsychonomic bulletin & review2021

Age differences in sustained attention tasks: A meta-analysis.

Antonino Vallesi, Virginia Tronelli, Francesco Lomi, Rachele Pezzetta

Open access · hybridAbstract readMeta-AnalysisReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Psychonomic bulletin & review, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
47citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
7.2field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

47 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 93 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Measurement bias for age, sex, and years of education in selected RDoC tasks.Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology · 2026
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  7. Association of physical activity and rest-activity rhythm with sustained attention and melatonin among community-dwelling older adults.European review of aging and physical activity : official journal of the European Group for Research into Elderly and Physical Activity · 2026
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  8. Cognition and psychomotor vigilance in treated sleep apnea patients with and without daytime sleepiness: the MAGNETO study.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Antonino VallesiDepartment of Neuroscience & Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, 35131, Padova, Italy. antonino.vallesi@unipd.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4087-2845
Virginia TronelliDepartment of Neuroscience & Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, 35131, Padova, Italy.
Francesco LomiDepartment of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Rachele PezzettaIRCCS San Camillo Hospital, Venice, Italy.
University of Padua · ITIRCCS San Camillo Hospital · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Many aspects of attention decline with aging. There is a current debate on how aging also affects sustained attention. In this study, we contribute to this debate by meta-analytically comparing performance on the go/no-go Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) in younger and older adults. We included only studies in which the SART had a low proportion of no-go trials (5%-30%), there was a random or quasirandom stimulus presentation, and data on both healthy younger and older adults were available. A total of 12 studies were suitable with 832 younger adults and 690 older adults. Results showed that older adults were slower than younger adults on go trials (g = 1, 95% CI [.72, 1.27]) and more accurate than younger adults on no-go trials (g = .59, 95% CI [.32, .85]). Moreover, older adults were slower after a no-go error than younger adults (g = .79, 95% CI [.60, .99]). These results are compatible with an age-related processing speed deficit, mostly suggested by longer go RTs, but also with an increased preference for a prudent strategy, as demonstrated by fewer no-go errors and greater posterror slowing in older adults. An inhibitory deficit account could not explain these findings, as older adults actually outperformed younger adults by producing fewer false alarms to no-go stimuli. These findings point to a more prudent strategy when using attentional resources in aging that allows reducing the false-alarm rate in tasks producing a tendency for automatic responding.

Indexed as

AgingCognitionAgedHumansReaction TimeCognitive agingGo/no-goMotor inhibitionSARTSustained attentionVigilance

Identifiers

PMID33772477
PMCPMC8642381
OpenAlexW3137988731

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.