Cognitively Stimulating Activities: Effects on Cognition across Four Studies with up to 21 Years of Longitudinal Data
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2011
Keywords
Cognitive functions, Aging
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/461592
Abstract
Engagement in cognitively stimulating activities has been considered to maintain or strengthen cognitive skills, thereby minimizing age-related cognitive decline. While the idea that there may be a modifiable behavior that could lower risk for cognitive decline is appealing and potentially empowering for older adults, research findings have not consistently supported the beneficial effects of engaging in cognitively stimulating tasks. Using observational studies of naturalistic cognitive activities, we report a series of mixed effects models that include baseline and change in cognitive activity predicting cognitive outcomes over up to 21 years in four longitudinal studies of aging. Consistent evidence was found for cross-sectional relationships between level of cognitive activity and cognitive test performance. Baseline activity at an earlier age did not, however, predict rate of decline later in life, thus not supporting the concept that engaging in cognitive activity at an earlier point in time increases one's ability to mitigate future age-related cognitive decline. In contrast, change in activity was associated with relative change in cognitive performance. Results therefore suggest that change in cognitive activity from one's previous level has at least a transitory association with cognitive performance measured at the same point in time.
Rights Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Journal of Aging Research, v. 2012, p. 1-12.
Scholar Commons Citation
Mitchell, Meghan B.; Cimino, Cynthia R.; Benitez, Andreana; Brown, Cassandra L.; Gibbons, Laura E.; Kennison, Robert F.; Shirk, Steven D.; Atri, Alireza; Robitaille, Annie; MacDonald, Stuart W.S.; Lindwall, Magnus; Zelinski, Elizabeth M.; Willis, Sherry L.; Schaie, K. Warner; Johannson, Boo; Dixon, Roger A.; Mungas, Dan M.; Hofer, Scott M.; and Piccinin, Andrea M., "Cognitively Stimulating Activities: Effects on Cognition across Four Studies with up to 21 Years of Longitudinal Data" (2011). Psychology Faculty Publications. 84.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/84
