{"pk":49310,"title":"Word Integration Across Sentence Boundaries in Third and Fourth Age Adults: Evidence from Eye-Tracking during Reading","subtitle":null,"abstract":"This study investigates how adults in the third (60–79 years) and fourth age (80+ years) integrate words across sentence boundaries during reading. Participants read two-sentence passages involving direct lexical repetition or bridging inferences. Both age groups exhibited longer reading times when bridging was required, showing that inference-making is still present despite potential cognitive declines. However, while third-age adults showed immediate sensitivity to inference demands, fourth-age participants demonstrated a delayed response, suggesting compensatory strategies. These findings highlight a key role for semantic knowledge in sustaining reading comprehension in old age. Future research with more diverse samples and longitudinal methods should clarify how age-related changes interact with linguistic resources. Interventions may target processing speeds to support reading comprehension in late adulthood.","language":"eng","license":{"name":"","short_name":"","text":null,"url":""},"keywords":[{"word":"Linguistics; Psychology; Language Comprehension; Eye tracking"}],"section":"Papers with Oral Presentation","is_remote":true,"remote_url":"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3t37r40h","frozenauthors":[{"first_name":"Ernesto","middle_name":"","last_name":"Guerra","name_suffix":"","institution":"Universidad de Chile","department":""},{"first_name":"Andrea","middle_name":"","last_name":"Helo","name_suffix":"","institution":"Universidad de Chile","department":""},{"first_name":"Carlos","middle_name":"","last_name":"Rojas","name_suffix":"","institution":"Universidad del B’o-B’o","department":""},{"first_name":"Bernardo","middle_name":"","last_name":"Riffo","name_suffix":"","institution":"Universidad de Concepci—n","department":""}],"date_submitted":null,"date_accepted":null,"date_published":"2025-01-01T12:00:00-06:00","render_galley":null,"galleys":[{"label":"PDF","type":"pdf","path":"https://journalpub.escholarship.org/cognitivesciencesociety/article/49310/galley/37271/download/"}]}