The effect of aging on contour integration

Good vision is extremely important for our daily lives. Unfortunately, standard vision tests often underestimate the declines in vision that occur with aging. Research shows that poorer vision impairs older adults' performance on tests of intelligence and thinking. Understanding how visual perception changes with age is crucial for improving the quality of life for older adults.

Ms. Roudaia and her colleagues studied the effects of aging on perceptual grouping by testing a group of healthy younger adults and a group of healthy older adults in an experiment that measured their ability to group elements into contours. The experiment required the participants to discriminate different shapes presented on a computer screen.

It was found that older adults process visual information differently from younger adults. Studying how perception changes with age can help our understanding of the constraints that healthy seniors face in their daily visual environment. This can, in turn, help us re-design those environments to reduce potential visual problems for older adults.

This research project is part of Ms. Roudaia's Doctoral thesis work. She is interested in studying how the brain translates the ambiguous visual input into meaningful percepts. Examining this question in younger and older adults also allows Ms. Roudaia to study how the brain copes with aging and adapts its mechanisms to maintain function.

Currently in spring 2009 Ms. Roudaia is a 2nd year Doctoral student in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University. She studies visual perception to try to understand the mechanisms that enable our brains to interpret the visual world. Ms. Roudaia aspires to become a fulltime researcher and hopes to continue studying the brain and its fascinating ability to adapt and change throughout the lifespan.