The Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory

Research

 

Ageing and Cognition

In this research program we are trying to examine changes that occur in cognitive information processing with ageing. Our examination of mental imagery and ageing has shown that ageing differentially affects subcomponents of imagery. Other processes, such as risk-taking decision making, do not show any decline with ageing (even in face of influences of implicit age stereotyping). Hence, our research does not support the general slowing down hypothesis; the hypothesis that all cognitive processes decline with ageing and do so at the same rate. However, ageing may affect top-down processing, use of prior knowledge, and other elementary processes which take part in a variety of cognitive abilities. Such changes may cause older people to seem as if they have declined in all cognitive processes.

To better understand ageing and cognition, we are trying to examine ageing from a computational viewpoint. One avenue of this research explores the behavioral significance of the biological changes that occur in the ageing brain. For example, our computer simulations have shown that dendritic growth in the aged brain can function as a computational mechanism to compensate for neuronal degradation. Another avenue of this research defines computational principles that characterize ageing and cognition.


Related publications:

 

* Dror, I.E., Schmitz-Williams, I.C., & Smith, W. (2005). Older adults use mental representations that reduce cognitive load: Mental rotation utilises holistic representations and processing. Experimental Aging Research, 31(4) 409-420. [abstract]

*  Dror, I. E., Katona, M., & Mungur, K. (1998). Age differences in decision making: To take a risk or not? Gerontology, 44 (2), 67-71. [abstract]
* Dror, I. E. & Kosslyn, S. M. (1994). Mental imagery and aging. Psychology and Aging, 9 (1), 90-102. [abstract]
* Dror, I. E. & Kosslyn, S. M. (1998). Age degradation in top-down processing: Identifying objects from canonical and noncanonical viewpoints. Experimental Aging Research, 24 (3), 203-216. [abstract]

* Meadmore, K., Dror, I. E., & Bucks, R.S. (in press). Lateralisation of spatial processing and age. Laterality.

* Rafaely, V., Dror, I. E., & Remington, R. E. (2006).  Information selectivity in decision making by young and older adults. International Journal of Psychology 41 (2), 117-131. [abstract]

* Ashman, O., Dror, I. E., Houlette, M., & Levy, B. (2003).  Preserved risk-taking skills in old age. North American Journal of Psychology, 5 (3), 397-407.

*  Meadmore, K., Bucks, R. S., & Dror, I. E. (2008).  Age related changes in categorical and metric object location memory.  Cognitive Aging Conference, Atlanta, GA.

* Dror, I. E., (1997). Computational adaptations and cognitive strategy changes as compensation for age-related decline in cognitive resources. Society of Neuroscience Abstracts, 23, 1457. New Orleans.

* Levy, B., Ashman, O. & Dror, I. E. (2000). To be or not to be: The effects of age stereotypes on the will to live. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 40 (3), 409-420. [abstract]

* Bucks, R., Burrow, A., Petri, M., & Dror, I.E. (2003). Visuospatial memory in ageing. PSIGE 23rd  Annual Conference.
* Dror, I. E. & Burwell, K. (submitted). The effects of prior knowledge on cognitive performance of older people.
* Dror, I. E., Girdler, B., & Schreiner, C. S. (in preparation). A computational look at cognition and aging.
* Dror, I. E. & Morgret, C. C. (1996). A computational investigation of dendritic growth as a compensatory mechanism for neuronal loss in the aging brain. Society of Neuroscience Abstracts, 22, 1891. Washington, DC.
* Brown, H., Kosslyn, S. M., & Dror, I. E., (1998). Aging and scanning of imagined and perceived visual images. Experimental aging Research, 24 (2),181-194.





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