Aging effect on Executive Control in the Random Number Generation Test

The decline of abilities related to Executive Control –EC with aging has been related with the Pre-Frontal System neurobiological aging. This study compared the score obtained in the Random Number Generation Test (RNG) by two groups: 30 college students (older than 18) and 36 elderly (older than 60). This last group was divided according to the criteria of schooling in up to 8 years of schooling and over 8 years of schooling. The results show that the younger participants scored 0,344 ± 0,04 in the RNG test; the elderly with up to 8 years of schooling punctuated 0,432 ± 0,10 and that those who studied for 9 years or more reached a mean of 0,393 ± 0,05. The statistical analysis of these data suggest that the elderly performance in the RNG test (0,420 ± 0,09) was significantly worse when compared to the performance of the younger participants (t (64) = -3,9927; p = 0,0001), which confirms that the manipulation and inhibitory control abilities of information are decreased in older people, probably due to the natural aging process of the Frontal Cortex. Keywords: neuropsychology; aging; executive functions.