Processing Speed, Inhibitory Control, and Working Memory: Three Important Factors to Account for Age-Related Cognitive Decline

2008 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arturo X. Pereiro Rozas ◽  
Onésimo Juncos-Rabadán ◽  
María Soledad Rodríguez González
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Best Fitting ◽  
Age Related Cognitive Decline ◽  
Fitting Model

Processing speed, inhibitory control and working memory have been identified as the main possible culprits of age-related cognitive decline. This article describes a study of their interrelationships and dependence on age, including exploration of whether any of them mediates between age and the others. We carried out a LISREL analysis of the performance of 79 participants of low educational level aged 40–91 years in six cognitive tasks. In the best mediational model the effects of age on inhibitory control and working memory are largely mediated by its effect on processing speed. However, in the best-fitting model age has only direct effects on processing speed, working memory, and inhibitory control.

scholarly journals NR2A-Containing NMDARs in the Prefrontal Cortex Are Required for Working Memory and Associated with Age-Related Cognitive Decline

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (50) ◽  
pp. 12537-12548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. McQuail ◽  
B. Sofia Beas ◽  
Kyle B. Kelly ◽  
Kailey L. Simpson ◽  
Charles J. Frazier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Cognitive Decline

VStore: A Novel Virtual Reality Assessment of Functional Cognition (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilla Alexandra Porffy ◽  
Mitul A. Mehta ◽  
Joel Patchitt ◽  
Celia Boussebaa ◽  
Jack Brett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Paired Associate ◽  
Model Fitting ◽  
Paired Associate Learning ◽  
Associate Learning ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Cognitive Decline

BACKGROUND Cognitive deficits are present in a number of neuropsychiatric disorders including, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and depression. Assessments used to measure cognition in these disorders are time-consuming, burdensome, and have low ecological validity. To address these limitations, we developed a novel virtual reality shopping task – VStore. OBJECTIVE This study aims to establish the concurrent and construct validity of VStore in relation to the established computerized cognitive battery, Cogstate; and tests its sensitivity to age related cognitive decline. METHODS Hundred and four healthy volunteers aged 20-79 completed both assessments. Main VStore outcomes included: 1) verbal recall of 12 grocery items, 2) time to collect items, 3) time to select items on a self-checkout machine, 4) time to make the payment, 5) time to order coffee, and 6) total completion time. To establish concurrent validity, bivariate correlations were performed between VStore outcomes and Cogstate tasks measuring attention, processing speed, verbal and visual learning, working memory, executive function, and paired associate learning. Construct validity analysis was also performed to examine which cognitive domains best predicted VStore performance. Finally, two ridge regression models were built using VStore outcomes in the first, and Cogstate outcomes in the second model as predictors of biological age to compare their sensitivity to age-related cognitive decline. RESULTS We found moderate correlations between VStore and Cogstate outcomes. VStore Total Time was best explained by tasks measuring working memory and paired associate learning, in addition to age and technological familiarity, accounting for 46% of the variance. Finally, with λ = 5.16, the model fitting selected five parameters for VStore when predicting biological age (MSE = 185.8, SE= 19.34). With λ = 9.49 for Cogstate, the model fitting selected all eight tasks (MSE = 226.8, SE = 23.48). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that VStore is a promising assessment that engages standard cognitive domains and is sensitive to age-related cognitive decline. CLINICALTRIAL NA

scholarly journals Lifelong Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mackenzie Robinson Graves
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Load Theory ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Worked Examples ◽  
Strategy Development ◽  
Load Theory ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Cognitive Decline

The struggles faced by elder learners suffering from age-related cognitive decline are often overlooked by instructional designers. However, existing educational theories that already inform learning strategy development for other populations should also help establish instructional methods used to help elder learners. In this article, cognitive load theory frames an exploration of proposed means to slow or counteract the effects of age-related cognitive decline in elder learners. Attention is given to the ways in which multimedia learning methods adhering to certain principles of cognitive load theory can increase available working memory capacity. Evidence is provided to show that cognitive load theory-based practices can also facilitate one’s activation of prior knowledge and betters one’s attentional control. Additionally, elder learners benefit from tasks that include worked examples and goal-free problems, whereas conventional, goal-oriented problems impose greater extraneous load on an already taxed working memory. The outcomes of the present analysis can also be applied to stroke victims’ rehabilitation plans and may offer implications for individuals suffering from other brain injuries, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, or dementia-related illnesses.

scholarly journals White Matter and Cognitive Decline in Aging: A Focus on Processing Speed and Variability

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 262-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonna Nilsson ◽  
Alan J. Thomas ◽  
John T. O'Brien ◽  
Peter Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Speed Performance ◽  
Age Related Cognitive Decline ◽  
Neuroimaging Techniques

AbstractWhite matter (WM) change plays an important role in age-related cognitive decline. In this review, we consider methodological advances with particular relevance to the role of WM in age-related changes in processing speed. In this context, intra-individual variability in processing speed performance has emerged as a sensitive proxy of cognitive and neurological decline while neuroimaging techniques used to assess WM change have become increasingly more sensitive. Together with a carefully designed task protocol, we emphasize that the combined implementation of intra-individual variability and neuroimaging techniques hold promise for specifying the WM-processing speed relationship with implications for normative and clinical samples. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–6)

Activity Engagement in Cognitive Aging: A Review of the Evidence

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Rogalski ◽  
Muriel Quintana
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Omega 3 ◽  
Neuroprotective Effects ◽  
Activity Engagement ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Cognitive Decline

The population of older adults is rapidly increasing, as is the number and type of products and interventions proposed to prevent or reduce the risk of age-related cognitive decline. Advocacy and prevention are part of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA’s) scope of practice documents, and speech-language pathologists must have basic awareness of the evidence contributing to healthy cognitive aging. In this article, we provide a brief overview outlining the evidence on activity engagement and its effects on cognition in older adults. We explore the current evidence around the activities of eating and drinking with a discussion on the potential benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, alcohol, and coffee. We investigate the evidence on the hypothesized neuroprotective effects of social activity, the evidence on computerized cognitive training, and the emerging behavioral and neuroimaging evidence on physical activity. We conclude that actively aging using a combination of several strategies may be our best line of defense against cognitive decline.

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