Study Finds Areas of Cognitive Health that Didn’t Decline with Age

While research appears to suggest older adults reach a point where their cognitive functioning stops progressing and actually begins to decline, a new study challenges the long-held belief that cognitive decline is a normal part of aging. The journal, Nature Human Behaviour, recently published the study from the Department of Neuroscience of Georgetown University Medical Center’s Brain and Language Lab in Washington, D.C., which tested 702 people age 58 to 98 for alertness, orienting and executive inhibition. The senior study author, Dr. Michael T. Ullman, said rather than finding cognitive decline across the board, they discovered older adults demonstrated improvements in some domains.  

Areas of progress include orienting and executive functioning, and researchers say additional brain training may even further enhance cognitive function. Study authors define executive functioning as the “the critical set of processes that allow us to focus on selective aspects of information in a goal-directed manner while ignoring irrelevant information. This set of functions is crucial for everyday life and supports numerous higher-level cognitive capacities.”

Researchers explain older adults can improve cognitive functioning with certain activities such as learning to play a musical instrument, learning to speak a new language or taking a course. Social interactions may also play a role in strengthening cognitive abilities along with targeted training.   

At the MorningStar of Billings senior living community, our mission statement includes valuing all seniors as gifted and contributing individuals as well as believing the human capacity to grow, to learn and to contribute is ageless. Along with a broad range of amenities, hospitality services and care services, we offer a complement of wellness programs and activities to engage residents’ mentally, physically, socially and spiritually. 

For independent living, we offer 32 free-standing cottages and another 72 bright suites within our main building. We have 70 suites for assisted living, and 36 secure memory care suites for residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Please visit our website to learn more about our loving community as well as to inquiry about pricing and availability.  

Source:

medicalnewstoday.com/articles/do-some-cognitive-functions-improve-with-age#Cognitive-functioning