An ERP Study to Investigate Age-Related Differences in Sensory Gating and Auditory Processing

Sensory gating is a mechanism that inhibits neurological responses to redundant information. Although studied within clinical populations, sensory gating has rarely been investigated with respect to aging. The present research investigated age-related changes in auditory sensory gating using electroencephalography and quantified the effect of age on adaptive gating responses for oddball stimuli. Age-related differences in sensory gating and oddball responses were observed in late-stage auditory processing, where older adults exhibited weaker sensory gating. An attenuated P200 for firstandsecond clicks seen in the aging group may explain the weaker sensory gating ratio seen in older participants. Furthermore, replacing the second click with oddball stimuli attenuated, but did not eliminate sensory gating, indicating that sensory gating is a dynamic mechanism. Findings suggest that sensory gating is diminished for older adults and may transform from an adaptive mechanism under executive control to a pre-attentive limiter of auditory processing.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Paleske, Caidence Sonya

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2019 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2019-13821

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/40530