# AGING & COGNITIVE SLOWING--THE INFORMATION-LOSS MODEL

> **NIH NIH R01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 1993 · $93,031

## Abstract

The proposed research tests the broad claims of the information-loss
model of age-related cognitive slowing proposed by Myerson, Hale,
Wagstaff, Smith, and Poon (1990).  The model assumes that a single
factor, variations in the number of processing steps, is responsible for
how response latencies are affected by task complexity, practice,
fluctuations in individual performance, and shifts in the emphasis on
speed versus accuracy.  The model further assumes that a second factor,
differences in information-processing efficiency, underlies differences
in response latencies of older and younger adults.  The interaction of
these two factors determines the form of the relation between the
latencies of older and younger adult.  Establishing the relation between
the latencies of older and younger adults will provide an important
cognitive benchmark that can be used to determine when individual
patterns of  cognitive slowing are typical of healthy older adults and
when such patterns are indicative of pathological changes.  To study this
relation, three series of experiments will examine the latencies of older
and younger adults on a variety of cognitive tasks.  The first series
will manipulate practice and speed-accuracy tradeoff to test the
hypothesis that the relation between older and younger adults' latencies
remains invariant.  The second series will examine individual subjects
and fluctuations in their performances to test the hypothesis that
information loss slows all cognitive processes in all individuals at all
levels of performance.  The final series will test for the existence of
two cognitive domains, each with its own developmental trend with respect
to cognitive slowing, and is designed to determine the factors
responsible for information loss.  In all three series, the predictions
of the information-loss model will be compared with those of alternative
models of global cognitive slowing, e.g., the multi-layered slowing model
and the overhead model proposed by Cerella (1985; 1990).

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3122156
- **Project number:** 5R01AG010197-02
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** L6NFUM28LQM5
- **Principal Investigator:** SANDRA S HALE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $93,031
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1992-07-01 → 1995-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3122156

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3122156, AGING & COGNITIVE SLOWING--THE INFORMATION-LOSS MODEL (5R01AG010197-02). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3122156. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*