Is it harder to “see the bigger picture” as we get older? New research published in Cortex indicates that as people age, the brain is less able to process information in the wider visual field.
A study of young and elderly people showed that the older subjects found it harder to focus on the “global picture.” The participants were shown a figure similar to that which appears below. Smaller letters made up a larger letter. The elderly study subjects took longer to spot the larger letter.
According to Medical News Today, this experiment provides insight into the processes of aging, including the changes in attention (meaning, the ability to concentrate on one thing, while ignoring other) which naturally happen over time.
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Source: Medical News Today, 24 Jul 2011
