Considerations
- “Normal” vs “Typical” Aging
- “Young-Old” vs “Old-Old”
- Heterogeneity
- Medical illness
- Education
- Culture/race
- Gender
- General intellect
- Past & current activity level
General Intellect
- Linked to Education (learned)
- Crystallized (increases)
- Learned knowledge base
- Fluid (decreases)
- Reflects maturational growth/decline of neural structures
- Speed & efficiency of new learning
- Application of new principles
Memory/Learning
- See also Aging and Memory
- Less efficient encoding due to reduced use of learning strategies
- More difficulty retrieving info that has been encoded
- True for both formal testing and “everyday” memory
Speech/Language
Areas of Relative Strength
- Linguistic knowledge (grammar)
- Lexical knowledge (words)
- Expressive vs. receptive
Weaknesses
- Naming
- Precision of verbal description
- Drawing abstract inferences from conversation
- Drawing unstated principles from facts
Caveats
- Sensory impairment
- Dentures
Visuospatial Skills
- Area of Greater Decline
- Small changes in simple perception
- Slowed visual processing
- Complex tasks produce large age effects
- Visual closure
- Visual integration
- Visual construction
- Vast individual differences
Executive Function
- Areas of Decline
- Cognitive flexibility
- Attentional flexibility
- Redundant inquiry
- Difficulty using feedback
- Application of abstract concepts
- Caveats
- Education, novelty, rapid change
General Cognitive Status
- WNL through 8th decade
- In early 80s, most are WNL on most tasks
Summary of Cognitive Changes
- Decline as part of normal aging
- Fluid intellectual abilities
- Complex attentional abilities
- Memory encoding/storage
- Accessing word knowledge
- Some abstract reasoning & problem-solving
- Decline is gradual in the above areas
- Allows for compensation
- Of minimal functional significance
- Marked or Rapid Declines, especially in areas not typically vulnerable to aging, can signal pathology
- Areas of Preservation
- Simple attention
- Primary and tertiary memory
- Everyday language communication
- Areas of Probable Growth
- Crystallized verbal intelligence
- Knowledge of everyday problem-solving
Correlates of Successful Aging
- Educational achievement
- Early educational experiences
- Physical health Status
- Exercise
- Perception of health and control
- Emotional state/life satisfaction
Interventions
- Memory Training and Self Help
- Mnemonics & external aids for related activities
- Education
- Normalizing age-related changes
- Role of physical fitness
Conclusions
- Cognitive changes in aging do occur
- Can be frustrating but not of functional significance
- Appears related to speed & efficiency with which we process info, access it, and apply new principals
- Successful cognitive aging requires proactive approach