![]() This is due to the fact that we use our language skills constantly as we have our entire lives since a very young age. Our language ability does not decline with advancing age and may actually improve. Verbal intellect, the use of words, does not decline as we age, if we are normal. If it takes the person 3 or 4 trials to repeat it correctly or the person cannot correctly repeat it after multiple trials, this indicates a problem that needs to be further evaluated. The person should be able to repeat back a string of five numbers or a name and address. Immediate recall or registration does not decline. What does not change as we grow older if we are normal for our age : We are still able to perform all the complex activities of daily living without much difficulty or any assistance. But once again this only becomes weaker and not impaired if we are normal for our age. It becomes more difficult to do several things at once (multitask), or to execute a smooth transition from one task to another. Executive function involves planning, organizing, sequencing, multitasking, paying attention, complex problem-solving, abstract reasoning, and the ability to shift attention back and forth between different stimuli quickly and accurately, such as when driving. Executive function is the cognitive ability that is involved in the performance of the most complex activities of daily living such as working, driving, paying bills, managing finances, shopping, managing medications, preparing nutritious meals, and traveling alone. ![]() Of course, if a person’s driving has become so slow that they cannot keep up with the flow of traffic and get honked at by other drivers this suggests a problem that needs further evaluation.Įxecutive functioning declines. Older adults need more time to process what they see and to react to situations and, therefore, compensate by driving slower. This is also why seniors tend to drive slower than younger drivers. This is why you don’t see old fighter pilots or old pro quarterbacks. Our speed of information processing slows down. We can compensate for this change by keeping stimuli to a minimum. In other words, we are more easily distracted – it becomes harder to concentrate when too much is happening at once. We also have more difficulty when we have to divide our attention between two or more things. This, in turn, can affect memory because we have to attend to something just long enough to become registered and then stored into memory. Our attention span gets weaker as we age. ![]() It takes a bit longer and it requires more effort, but we can still keep learning! However, if we are normal, even into our 80s and 90s we can still learn new information, and for the sake of brain health, we should keep learning new things. Also, there is a gradual decline in the speed of the memory process itself - the retrieval of information takes longer and is a bit more difficult. Keeping such items as keys, glasses, or cell phones in the same place at home and in the car saves us from misplacing them. As our short-term memory becomes weaker we may do a number of things to compensate such as writing more things down, keeping appointment books or day planners, using Post-It Notes, checklists, or wall calendars. It is much like needing reading glasses as we get older. At that time we begin employing methods that help us to compensate. Studies show that our short-term memory starts to decline in our 30s, but we don’t notice it until our 40s or 50s. This is not a significant change, but it may be noticeable and it happens with most of us as we get older. ![]() Short-term memory (the ability to learn new information) declines as we age. The National Institute of Mental Health has defined this gradual decline in memory as Age Associated Memory Impairment (AAMI). In order to identify signs and symptoms that are abnormal as with a cognitive disorder such as dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment, it is necessary to understand what changes occur normally as we age.
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