There are two interesting recent articles on the ScienceDaily website in relation to the cognitive skills of, and causes of memory loss in, the elderly. I prefer the term 'more mature' as it doesn't make me feel so old.
The first entitled 'Elderly can be as fast as young in some brain tasks, study shows' highlights research that has found that both children and the elderly have slower response times when they have to make quick decisions in some settings. But the research suggests that much of that slower response is a conscious choice to emphasize accuracy over speed. In fact, healthy older people can be trained to respond faster in some decision-making tasks without hurting their accuracy -- meaning their cognitive skills in this area aren't so different from younger adults.
The second entitled 'New clues as to why some older people may be losing their memory' refers to new research that links 'silent strokes,' or small spots of dead brain cells, found in about one out of four older adults to memory loss in the elderly.
I've decided that if I am slower answering a question than would be expected it is because I will have made the conscious choice to emphasize accuracy over speed; or will it be that I've forgotten the question. What if I can't remember what I've decided?
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