It has been well documented that aging is associated with declines in a variety of cognitive functions. A growing body of research shows that the age-related cognitive declines are reversible through cognitive training programs, suggesting maintained cognitive plasticity of the aging brain. Retest learning represents a basic form of cognitive plasticity. It has been consistently demonstrated fo...

In recent years bilingualism has been linked to both advantages in executive control and positive impacts on aging. Such positive cognitive effects of bilingualism have been attributed to the increased need for language control during bilingual processing and increased cognitive reserve, respectively. However, a mechanistic explanation of how bilingual experience contributes to cognitive reserv...

Alterations in the structure and organization of the aging central nervous system (CNS), and associated functional deficits, result in cognitive decline and increase susceptibility to neurodegeneration. Age-related changes to the neurovascular unit (NVU), and their consequences for cerebrovascular function, are implicated as driving cognitive impairment during aging as well as in neurodegenerat...

Aging is related to a deterioration of cognitive performance and to multiple alterations in the brain. Even before the beginning of a noticeable cognitive decline, the framework which holds cognitive function experiences these alterations. From a system-vulnerability point of view of cognition, the deterioration associated with age would be the collection of repercussions during a life. Brain f...

Psychologists have suggested two possible causes of declines in cognitive performance with age: declines in cognitive capacity (e.g., working memory), and the level of stimulation in their environments. Fourteen college students (mean age=21 years, SD=1.65), seven middle-aged (40-59, mean age=51, SD=4.8), and five elderly (60+, mean age=74.8, SD=8.3) participants completed a series of assessmen...

Aging is one of the most evident biological processes, but its mechanisms are still poorly understood. Studies of cognitive aging suggest that age is associated with cognitive decline; however, there may be individual differences such that not all older adults will experience cognitive decline. That is, cognitive decline is not intrinsic to aging, but there is some heterogeneity. Many researche...

During the modern gerontology the cognitive decline were generally considered as an inevitable and natural accompaniment of aging. Over the past decade, the distinction between normative from non-normative changes remains difficult. The purpose of this review is to present a synthesis and integration of the current knowledge of cognitive decline by interdisciplinary perspectives. The theories o...

It has been known for some time that memory deficits among older adults increase when self-initiated processing is required and decrease when the environment provides task-appropriate cues. We propose that this observation is not confined to memory but can be subsumed under a more general developmental trend. In perception, learning or memory, and action management, older adults often rely more...

Memory decline in human aging and dementia is linked to dysfunction of the cholinergic system. Aging dogs demonstrate cognitive impairments and neuropathology that models human aging and dementia. This paper reviews recent evidence suggesting cholinergic involvement in canine cognitive aging based on studies with the anti-cholinergic drug, scopolamine, and a novel acetylcholinesterase inhibitor...