Inhibition in attention and aging

Abstract

The literature on inhibition and aging has grown steadily in the wake of Hasher & Zacks' (1988) inhibitory deficit theory of cognitive aging. Not all of the findings support the notion of an age-related inhibitory decline, and some refinement of the theory is now required. This article has three goals: (a) to evaluate the role of inhibitory mechanisms in selective attention and aging; (b) to provide an evaluation of inhibition as a theoretical concept in theories of cognitive aging, with a specific focus on attention and aging; and (c) to consider the more general problem of evaluating progress in theory development.