The Cambridge Handbook of Cognitive Aging

Decades of research have demonstrated that normal aging is accompanied by cognitive change. Much of this change has been conceptualized as a decline in function. However, age-related changes are not universal, and decrements in older adult performance may be moderated by experience, genetics, and environmental factors. Cognitive aging research to date has also largely emphasized biological changes in the brain, with less evaluation of the range of external contributors to behavioral manifestations of age-related decrements in performance. This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of cutting-edge cognitive aging research through the lens of a life course perspective that takes into account both behavioral and neural changes. Focusing on the fundamental principles that characterize a life course approach – genetics, early life experiences, motivation, emotion, social contexts, and lifestyle interventions – this handbook is an essential resource for researchers in cognition, aging, and gerontology.

Table of Contents

Part I Models of Cognitive Aging 3

1 Overview of Models of Cognitive Aging

2 Cognitive Reserve

3 How Age-Related Changes in the Brain Affect Cognition

4 Neuroadaptive Trajectories of Healthy Mindspan: From Genes to Neural Networks

5 Cognitive Aging: The Role of Neurotransmitter Systems

6 How Arousal-Related Neurotransmitter Systems Compensate for Age-Related Decline

Part I Summary

Part II Mechanisms of Cognitive Aging

7 Aging Effects on Brain and Cognition: What Do We Learn from a Strategy Perspective?

8 Inhibitory Theory: Assumptions, Findings, and Relevance to Interventions

9 From Perception to Action: Bottom-Up and Top-Down Influences on Age Differences in Attention

10 Age-Related Sensory Deficits and Their Consequences

11 Episodic Memory Decline in Aging

12 Age Differences in Decision Making

13 Emotion and Memory

14 Time Perception from Seconds to Lifetimes: How Perceived Time Affects Adult Development

Part II Summary

Part III Aging in a Socioemotional Context

15 Memory and Aging in Social Contexts

16 Emotion Regulation in Adulthood and Old Age: A Cognitive Aging Perspective on Strategy Use and Effectiveness

17 Changes in Social and Emotional Well-Being over the Lifespan

18 Aging and Cognitive Functioning: The Impact of Goals and Motivation

19 Social Relationships and Cognitive Development in Adulthood

20 Emotion Recognition and Aging of the Social Brain

21 Narrative and Identity: The Importance of Our Personal Past in Later Life

22 Stereotype Threat and the Cognitive Performance of Older Adults

Part IV Cognitive, Social, and Biological Factors across the Lifespan

23 Prenatal Influences on Cognitive Aging

24 Associations between Activity Participation across the Life Course and Cognitive Aging

25 Cognitive Aging and Culture: Older Brain Predictions about Different Environments

26 Current Perspectives on Aging and Bilingualism across the Life Span

27 Grit and Successful Aging

28 Control and Cognition: Contextual and Individual Differences in Cognitive Aging

29 Cognition and Well-Being across Adulthood and Old Age

30 The Genetics of Cognitive Abilities

31 Blood Biomarkers of Cognitive Health and Neurodegenerative Disease

Part IV Summary

Part V Later Life and Interventions

32 Cerebrovascular Disease, Aging, and Depression: Clinical Features, Pathophysiology, and Treatment

33 The Role of Nutrition in Cognitive Decline

34 The Role of Sleep in Cognitive Aging

35 The Relationship between Accelerometer-Derived

Metrics of Physical Activity and Cognition among Older Adults

36 Far Transfer and Cognitive Training: Examination of Two Hypotheses on Mechanisms

37 Maximizing the Impact of Cognitive Engagement Interventions for Older Adults

38 Mobility and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment

39 Current and Emerging Technologies for Supporting Successful Aging

About the Authors

Ayanna K. Thomas is Professor of Psychology at Tufts University, Massachusetts. She takes a translational approach to the study of memory and age-related changes in cognition by applying basic science findings to areas such as eyewitness memory, education, and cognitive aging.

Angela Gutchess is Associate Professor of Psychology at Brandeis University, Massachusetts, with appointments in the Neuroscience Program and the Volen Center for Complex Systems. Her research investigates the influence of age and culture on memory and social cognition, using behavioral, neuroimaging (fMRI), electrophysiological (EEG), and patient research methods.