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Elena V. Tikhomirova
Kostroma State University
Inna V. Tikhonova
Kostroma State University
Anna G. Samokhvalova
Kostroma State University
Stepan V. Buikin
Kostroma State University
Alena K. Soytu
Kostroma State University
Elena A. Sibirkina
Kostroma State University
Age-related specificity of neurophysiological markers of focused attention duration
Tikhomirova E.V., Tikhonova I.V., Samokhvalova A.G., Buikin S.V., Soytu A.K., Sibirkina E.A. Age-related specificity of neurophysiological markers of focused attention duration. Vestnik of Kostroma State University. Series: Pedagogy. Psychology. Sociokinetics, 2026, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 144-153. https://doi.org/10.34216/2073-1426-2026-32-1-144-153
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34216/2073-1426-2026-32-1-144-153
УДК: 159.93
EDN: TOSDII
Publish date: 2025-12-25
Annotation: The duration of focused attention is a critical cognitive process that determines the effectiveness of activity. The present study aims to identify neurophysiological markers of sustained attention and their relationship with the type of cognitive load across different age groups. The study involved 155 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 65 years (mean age 32.4 ± 12.8 years, 78 women, 77 men), who performed two cognitive tasks of different modalities: a visual Landolt ring test (15 minutes) and an auditory correction test (6 minutes). Electroencephalographic recording was conducted simultaneously using a 6-channel NeuroPlay-6C system with electrodes Fp1, Fp2, T3, T4, O1, O2, placed according to the international 10-20 system. Despite the absence of significant age-related differences in behavioral performance, statistically significant differences in EEG spectral characteristics were revealed. In young subjects, visual attention efficiency correlated with a “spectral mobilization” pattern (generalized desynchronization of alpha rhythm), whereas in mature subjects it correlated with an “amplitude regulation” pattern (local reduction of frontal rhythm amplitude and functional involvement of occipital alpha rhythm). In the auditory modality, performance in mature subjects was closely related to frontal alpha activity, while in young subjects no significant correlations were found. The results support the hypothesis of an age-related transformation of neurophysiological strategies for maintaining focused attention - from global resource mobilization towards more specialized and efficient regulation. The obtained data are important for developing age-oriented methods of neurophysiological monitoring of cognitive state in professional and educational settings.
Keywords: electroencephalography, cognitive load, prolonged focused observation, focused attention, Landolt ring test, auditory test, age and sex differences, neuromarkers.
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Author's info: Elena V. Tikhomirova, Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Associate Professor, Kostroma State University, Kostroma, Russia, tichomirowa82@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3844-4622
Co-author's info: Inna V. Tikhonova, Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Associate Professor, Kostroma State University, Kostroma, Russia, inn.007@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7756-0610
Co-author's info: Anna G. Samokhvalova, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Kostroma State University, Kostroma, Russia, a_samohvalova@kosgos.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4401-053X
Co-author's info: Stepan V. Buikin, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Kostroma State University, Kostroma, Russia, bsv@kosgos.ru , https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2648-3245
Co-author's info: Alena K. Soytu, Assistant Professor, Kostroma State University, Kostroma, Russia, a_vorobeva@kosgos.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3910-5382
Co-author's info: Elena A. Sibirkina, Kostroma State University, Kostroma, Russia, kotik52607@yandex.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3551-7407