Neuroscience of
Aging & Cognitive
Health
WEEK 5
Attention & Memory
Rarely studied together, but clearly interact in older adults
Gazzaley et al., 2005
Do older adults suppress irrelevant
information?
Gazzaley et al., 2005
Do older adults remember target
scenes even if they suppress less?
Gazzaley et al., 2005
Attentional functioning
Chapter 6
INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONING
Gardner's 8 intelligences 383
Sternberg's components 383
• “The Psychometric Approach to Intelligence
◦ Brief History of the Test Movement
◦ Psychometric Tests and Aging Research
Hmmmm
◦ Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
◦ Cultural Diversity
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411
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4387
Categories of Intelligence (Horn & Cattell) 385
Fluid intelligence (Gf)
“raw” intelligence, dependent on the integrity of the central
nervous system
Reflected in numerical reasoning, logic, & speed of processing
Relatively independent of cultural influences
Usually shows age-related decline
Crystallized intelligence (Gc)
Function of education, experience, culture
Reflected in verbal abilities
Is maintained or increases with age
Dual-Process Model of Intelligence (Baltes)
Mechanics of intelligence
Similar to fluid intelligence (Gf)
Perceptual processing, categorizing information, memory
Likened to the hardware of the mind
Gradual age-related decline
Pragmatics of intelligence
Similar to crystallized intelligence (Gc)
Culturally based factual and procedural knowledge
Likened to the software of the mind
Maintained or improves with age
Perspectives in the Study of Intelligence 400
(Woodruff-Pak)
Phase I
Mapping an inevitable age-related decline in intelligence
Phase II
Identifying the components of intelligence that remain stable and
those that decline
Increased awareness that cohort can play a role
Phase III
Focus on intraindividual variability
Interest in experience, training, and practice
Phase IV
Interest in new ways to define & measure intelligence
Cohort Trends
404
Positive cohort trend
Present-day young adult cohort has greater ability
than an older cohort had when young (sometimes
called the Flynn Effect)
Negative cohort trend
Present-day young adult cohort has less ability than
an older cohort had when young
Classic Aging Pattern 406
Verbal abilities remain stable with age
On the WAIS, scores on verbal subtests are age-
insensitive
Vocabulary, information, and comprehension hold
up best
Nonverbal abilities decline with age
On the WAIS, scores on the performance subtests are
age-sensitive
Digit symbol, picture arrangement, and block design
show the greatest age-related decline
Life-Span Developmental Perspective on
Intelligence 408
Intellectual development occurs over the entire life span
Intellectual development is embedded in historical and sociocultural context unique to
each cohort group
Intellectual ability is multidimensional, multidirectional, and multicausal
Intellectual development is best studied using a multidisciplinary approach
Intellectual development includes both gains and losses, though the proportion of gains to
losses can fluctuate over the adult years
Intellectual development has plasticity, so it can be modified with practice or training
Maximizing Intellectual Functioning in Older
Adulthood 417
Testing the limits
Intervention
Compensation
Unexercised versus optimally exercised abilities
Factors Related to Maintenance of Intellectual
Functioning Among Older Adults
416
Absence of cardiovascular & other chronic diseases
Less than average decline in speed of processing
ActiveProject
Above-average education and income 414
Occupational history of high-complexity jobs
Flexible attitudes and behaviors
Satisfaction with own accomplishments as of midlife
Member of intact family & a well-educated spouse
A stimulating and engaged lifestyle
Pursuit of continuing education and participation in clubs and professional
associations
White Matter Hyperintensities 424
Mental Activity and Intellectual Functioning 4 7
Disuse hypothesis of cognitive aging
skills
and abilities get rusty when not used on a regular
basis
Engagement hypothesis
noveland challenging tasks and mental exercise
prevent decline in intellectual functioning
Gaming and Cognitive Functioning 425
Commercial companies claim their brain-games
enhance real-world cognitive functioning
Studies used to support this claim not always
scientifically adequate
Brain-games may improve functioning on
specific tasks but not so far not proven to
enhance real-world cognition in general
Encapsulation Model 433
With increasing age, knowledge becomes
channeled (encapsulated) within specific areas
(domains).
There is concentration on updating and acquiring
knowledge in the encapsulated domains.
There is lower efficiency in acquiring knowledge
unrelated to the encapsulated domains.
Everyday Problems Test Includes Tasks in Seven
Categories (Willis)
437
Managing medications
e.g., complete a patient medical history form
Managing finances
e.g., complete an income tax form
Shopping for necessities
e.g., compare brands of a product
Using the telephone
e.g., determine emergency phone information
Meal preparation and nutrition
e.g., follow recipe instructions
Housekeeping
e.g., comprehend an appliance warrantee
Transportation
e.g., read a bus schedule
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Chapter 7
COGNITION AND PROBLEM SOLVING IN THE EVERYDAY WORLD
Stage Model of Cognitive/Intellectual
Development (Schaie, 1977-1978)
Childhood/adolescence
Acquisitive Stage
Young Adulthood
Achieving Stage
Middle Adulthood
Responsible/Executive Stage
Older Adulthood
Reintegrative Stage
Revised Cognitive Stage Model
(Schaie & Willis, 2000)
Acquisitive Stage
Achieving Stage
Responsible/Executive Stage
Reorganizational Stage
Reintegrative Stage
Legacy Creating Stage
Types of Intelligence
Academic vs. Practical
Formal Knowledge vs. Tacit Knowledge
Practical Intelligence
Useful for solving problems that
Include tacit knowledge
are unformulated and poorly defined
are relevant to everyday experience
lack specific information needed for solution
have multiple “correct” solutions
can be solved using various methods
Tacit Knowledge
“Knowing how” rather than just “knowing that”
Having a practical use in attaining valued goals
Inferred from actions or indirect statements
Social Cognition 317
Impression Formation
Category-based operations
Similar to top-down processing
Rely on previously formed schemas
Advantage is that they are efficient
Disadvantage is that earlier schemas may not be appropriate or
accurate
Piecemeal operations
Similar to bottom-up processing
Process details rather than relying on earlier schemas
Advantage is a more accurate representation
Disadvantage is the heavy use of cognitive resources
Cognitive change across the life
span
There is a shift in the balance of representation and control
Control processes dictate how representations can be used
As control processes decline, we struggle to access previously known
information
Craik & Bialystock, 2006
Representations
Our crystalized knowledge or representations remain stable throughout
life with three considerations
1. Formation of new representations is difficult for older adults
2. The frequency of use of declarative knowledge and procedural
skills impacts retention
3. We need to have the cognitive control to be able to access these
representations
Hierarchy of
knowledge
Lifespan:
Children learn specifics first
Knowledge builds to be
more conceptual
Older adults struggle with
specifics
Names and details becomes
inaccessable
Cognitive
Control
Craik & Bialystock, 2006
Cognitive control across the
lifespan
Childhood:
Automatic / environmentally dependent processing
Concrete representations / low control
Middle adulthood
Internally driven, goal-directed controlled processing
Abstract representations / high control
Older Adulthood
Automatic / environmentally dependent processing
Abstract representations / low control
Craik & Bialystock, 2006
Midterm
Thursday October 10th
Starts @ 2:30
2 hours (120 minutes)
50 MC
5 Short Answer
Covers chapters 1-7
2 articles we discussed in the first week
No Lecture afterwards
