Pupil dilation as a marker of attention/effort in aging and mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

Pupil dilation (PD) can be easily measured and reflects responses to subjectively salient or cognitively demanding events. It therefore holds promise as a cognitive marker especially for individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or other neurodegenerative conditions with restricted abilities to respond in cognitive assessments. We assessed PD during two tasks, an oddball task for investigating attentional allocation and a Simon task which additionally allows for investigating cognitive effort in younger adults (YAs), older adults (OAs), and patients with MCI. PD is a useful marker for investigating attention and cognitive effort in MCI, as suggested by elevated PD to salient stimuli in particular of individuals with better attentional control in MCI patients, as well as YAs and OAs. Measurement of PD may serve as an easy-to-administer measure to assess changes in cognitive function in healthy aging and MCI.