Fiche du document
2024
- ISIDORE Id: 10670/1.39f07a...
Cairn
Sujets proches
Competence Older persons Older adults Seniors (Older people) Elderly people Old people Senior citizens Aging people AgedCiter ce document
Lucas Rotolo et al., « Reversible cognitive deficits in older adults », Gériatrie et Psychologie Neuropsychiatrie du Vieillissement, ID : 10670/1.39f07a...
Métriques
Partage / Export
Résumé
The cognitive performance of older adults is very often inferior to that of younger adults on a variety of laboratory tests assessing basic functions such as memory, inhibition, or attention. Traditional hypotheses and theories share the idea that these cognitive deficits are irreversible, owing to profound cerebral changes. In this review article, we develop a more positive conception of aging, according to which cognitive deficits are not all irreversible: some may be partially, if not completely, reversible. To this end, we present some of the most illustrative research on the reversibility of the effects of aging on cognition. We show how subtle contextual manipulations can change older adults’ motivation and strategy, which improve their cognitive performance. We also show that guidance toward the selection of the most appropriate strategy, whether explicit as in selectivity paradigms or implicit as in dual-task procedures, can increase older adults’ cognitive performance. Finally, we describe the hypotheses and theories that account for low cognitive performance in old age and ways of reversing the effects of cognitive aging.
