Ageing and visual spatiotemporal processing

Ageing affects many visual functions. Here, we investigated the effects of ageing on vernier acuity and backward masking using the shine-through paradigm. We divided healthy older adults (>60 years) into two groups depending on whether vernier duration was comparable to younger adults (Older Adults 1) or not (Older Adults 2). Backward masking was deteriorated for Older Adults 2 but not for Older Adults 1. In addition, by using complex masking gratings, we found deficits in spatial and tempo- ral vision in Older Adults 2, which cannot be explained by deteriorated visual acuity, pointing to cortical rather than retinal causes. Our results highlight the importance of tak- ing into account individual differences in visual ageing research. In addition, our results have important implica- tions for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia has been suggested to be a form of early brain ageing. Linking our current masking results in ageing to previous masking results in schizophrenia shows that schizophrenia is not a form of early ageing, at least not in the visual domain.