What is this study about?

• The purpose of this study is to learn about age differences in narrative comprehension and attention. The study will use an eye-tracker to track eye movements. Research on the healthy aging process can inform us about what is different for individuals with neurocognitive disorders (e.g., dementia) and help us create new methods to improve memory in everyday life.

Who can participate?

• Older volunteers from the community (aged 60-80 years). Participants must have English as their first language, sufficient motor function for use of a keyboard/mouse, no known neurological conditions (such as epilepsy), no history of head injury (e.g., concussion), no history of memory impairment (e.g., dementia or mild-cognitive-decline), normal or corrected-to-normal vision, no vision impairments (e.g., cataracts, glaucoma, amblyopia (lazy eye), astigmatism, etc.) that would impact the ability to see words or images on a computer screen clearly, and have not recently undergone surgery to correct any vision impairments within the past 6 months prior to participation (e.g., Lasik eye-surgery or cataract removal).

What is involved in participating?

• Should you choose to participate, you will be asked to fill out a consent form. You will be asked to come to the laboratory at Brock University and read four narrative stories about everyday activities while your eye-movements are recorded using an eye-tracker. Following each story, you will be asked questions about the story and complete computerized tasks that measure attention. You will also complete some questionnaires. Some of your verbal responses may be tape recorded for later scoring. No individual feedback will be provided, and none of the cognitive assessments are diagnostic in nature, but we can provide you with a general summary of the results once the study is completed.

What do individuals get for participating?

• The session will be conducted at the laboratory at Brock University. In appreciation of participation, you will receive a $30.00 honorarium, free parking at the front of the building or transportation costs in lieu of free parking.

How can individuals participate? 

• If you wish to participate in the study, please fill out the from below and the researchers will contact you at their earliest convenience.