Cognitive Development of Late Adulthood

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF LATE ADULTHOOD
There are numerous stereotypes regarding older adults as being forgetful and confused, but
what does the research on memory and cognition in late adulthood actually reveal? In this
section, we will focus upon the impact of aging on memory, how age impacts cognitive
functioning, and abnormal memory loss due to Alzheimer’s disease, delirium, and dementia.
Aging and memory

The Sensory Register
Aging may create small decrements in the sensitivity of the senses. And, to the extent that a
person has a more difficult time hearing or seeing, that information will not be stored in memory.
This is an important point, because many older people assume that if they cannot remember
something, it is because their memory is poor. In fact, it may be that the information was never
seen or heard.
Working memory is a cognitive system with a limited capacity responsible for temporarily
holding information available for processing. As we age, the working memory loses some of its
capacity. Older people have more difficulty using memory strategies to recall details (Berk,
2007) This makes it more difficult to concentrate on more than one thing at a time or to
remember details of an event.
When an elderly person demonstrates difficulty with multi-step verbal information presented
quickly, the person is exhibiting problems with working memory. Working memory is among the
cognitive functions most sensitive to decline in old age. Several explanations have been offered
for this decline in memory functioning; one is the processing speed theory of cognitive aging by
Tim Salthouse. Drawing on the findings of general slowing of cognitive processes as people
grow older, Salthouse argues that slower processing causes working-memory contents to
decay, thus reducing effective capacity( Salthouse, TA,1996)
An explanation on the neural level of the decline of working memory and other cognitive
functions in old age has been proposed by Robert West. He argued that working memory
depends to a large degree on the prefrontal cortex, which deteriorates more than other brain
regions as we grow old(West, Robert ,1996)
The Long-Term Memory
Long-term memory involves the storage of information for long periods of time. Retrieving such
information depends on how well it was learned in the first place rather than how long it has
been stored. If information is stored effectively, an older person may remember facts, events,
names and other types of information stored in long-term memory throughout life. The memory
of adults of all ages seems to be similar when they are asked to recall names of teachers or
classmates. And older adults remember more about their early adulthood and adolescence than
about middle adulthood (Berk, 2007). Older adults retain semantic memory or the ability to
remember vocabulary.
Younger adults rely more on mental rehearsal strategies to store and retrieve information. Older
adults focus rely more on external cues such as familiarity and context to recall information
(Berk, 2007). And they are more likely to report the main idea of a story rather than all of the
details
Wisdom
It the ability to use good judgment while making decisions. Does aging bring wisdom? While
living longer brings experience, it does not always bring wisdom. Those who have had
experience helping others resolve problems in living and those who have served in leadership
positions seem to have more wisdom. So it is age combined with a certain type of experience
that brings wisdom. However, older adults generally have greater emotional wisdom or the
ability to empathize with and understand others.
Attention :Changes in Attention in Late Adulthood

Divided attention has usually been associated with significant age-related declines in performing
complex tasks. For example, older adults show significant impairments on attentional tasks such
as looking at a visual cue at the same time as listening to an auditory cue because it requires
dividing or switching of attention among multiple inputs. Deficits found in many tasks, such as
the Stroop task which measures selective attention, can be largely attributed to a general
slowing of information processing in older adults rather than to selective attention deficits per
se.The tasks on which older adults show impairments tend to be those that require flexible
control of attention, a cognitive function associated with the frontal lobes. Importantly, these
types of tasks appear to improve with training and can be strengthened.(Glisky EL,2007)
Cognitive Function in Late Adulthood

● Abnormal Loss of Cognitive Functioning During Late Adulthood
Dementia is the umbrella category use to describe the general long-term and often gradual
decrease in the ability to think and remember that affects a person’s daily functioning.The
manual used to help classify and diagnose mental disorders, the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-V, classifies dementia as “major neurocognitive disorder,
with milder symptoms classified as “mild cognitive impairment,” although the term dementia is
still in common use. Common symptoms of dementia include emotional problems, difficulties
with language, and a decrease in motivation. A person’s consciousness is usually not
affected.Globally, dementia affected about 46 million people in 2015. About 10% of people
develop the disorder at some point in their lives, and it becomes more common with age. About
3% of people between the ages of 65–74 have dementia, 19% between 75 and 84, and nearly
half of those over 85 years of age. In 2015, dementia resulted in about 1.9 million deaths, up
from 0.8 million in 1990. As more people are living longer, dementia is becoming more common
in the population as a whole(1)
Delirium, also known as acute confusional state, is an organically caused decline from a
previous baseline level of mental function that develops over a short period of time, typically
hours to days. It is more common in older adults, but can easily be confused with a number of
psychiatric disorders or chronic organic brain syndromes because of many overlapping signs
and symptoms in common with dementia, depression, psychosis, etc. Delirium may manifest
from a baseline of existing mental illness, baseline intellectual disability, or dementia, without
being due to any of these problems.
Delirium is a syndrome encompassing disturbances in attention, consciousness, and cognition.
It may also involve other neurological deficits, such as psychomotor disturbances (e.g.
hyperactive, hypoactive, or mixed), impaired sleep-wake cycle, emotional disturbances, and
perceptual disturbances (e.g. hallucinations and delusions), although these features are not
required for diagnosis. Among older adults, delirium occurs in 15-53% of post-surgical patients,
70-87% of those in the ICU, and up to 60% of those in nursing homes or post-acute care
settings. Among those requiring critical care, delirium is a risk for death within the next year.[1]
Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), also referred to simply as Alzheimer’s, is the most common cause of
dementia, accounting for 60-70% of its cases. Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease causing
problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse
over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks[4]
Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging. The greatest known risk factor is increasing age, and
the majority of people with Alzheimer’s are 65 and older. But Alzheimer’s is not just a disease of
old age. Approximately 200,000 Americans under the age of 65 have younger-onset
Alzheimer’s disease (also known as early-onset Alzheimer’s).
References
1 LibGuides: PSY 180 - Psychology of Aging - Textbook: Cognitive Development in Late

Adulthood. (n.d.). https://guides.hostos.cuny.edu/Psychology_of_Aging/cognitive_development
2 Salthouse, TA (1996). The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition.

Psychology Review. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8759042.
3 Glisky EL. Changes in Cognitive Function in Human Aging. In: Riddle DR, editor. Brain Aging:
Models, Methods, and Mechanisms. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press/Taylor & Francis; 2007.
Chapter 1. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3885/
4 What is Alzheimer's? Alzheimer's Association. Retrieved from https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-

dementia/what-is-alzheimers

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COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF LATE ADULTHOOD

Aging and memory

Attention :Changes in Attention in Late Adulthood

Cognitive Function in Late Adulthood

1 LibGuides: PSY 180 - Psychology of Aging - Textbook: Cognitive Development in Late

2 Salthouse, TA (1996). The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition.

4 What is Alzheimer's? Alzheimer's Association. Retrieved from https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-

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