Cognitive Aging
What does positive aging look like? This is one of the questions that researchers in the interdisciplinary field of cognitive aging are trying to answer, using tools such as memory tests, medical examinations and brain scans.
With an ever-aging population, there is an increasing need to study how memory and health develop with age. Researchers are trying to identify what characterises good, normal and declining intellectual ability in different stages of life. Are there any gender differences in memory development? What is the significance of genetic factors?
Central to this research is the Betula Project, a longitudinal study which has followed the cognitive development in one thousand people since 1988 and another thousand people since 1993. Every five years, cognitive functions such as memory and language are tested. The subjects also undergo a medical examination and answer questions about their life situation. In addition, genetic data is collected and their brains scanned.
This interdisciplinary research is coordinated by the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University and includes researchers from the Institute for International Economic Studies, the Stress Research Institute and the Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS). Researchers from a number of other universities in Sweden and abroad are also involved.
So far, researchers have been able to demonstrate great individual differences in the deterioration of episodic memory, and that these differences increase with age. A hope for the future is to identify markers that indicate cognitive impairment in 35-40 year olds. Early intervention, including the use of medication, can then be put in place to prevent dementia from occurring later in life, to the benefit of both the individual and society.
Web editor:
Paul Parker
Last updated:
November 23, 2011
Source: Communications Office
