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Tab Title: Attention
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Attention is a basic but complex cognitive process. Many researchers divide attention into 3 subcategories
Selective Attention - the ability to attend to some stimuli while disregarding others that are irrelevant to the task at hand
Divided Attention and Attention Switching - the processing of two or more sources of information or the performance of two or more tasks at the same time
Sustained Attention - the ability to maintain concentration on a task over an extended period of time.
Older adults often show impairments in attentional tasks that require dividing or switching among multiple tasks, e.g., driving, which requires the ability to switch attention, is more difficult for older people.
Tab Title: Working Memory
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Working memory irefers to the ability to combine temporary storage and manipulation of information, i.e., the ability to keep information current in mind for a short period, while using this information for the task at hand. Example - Hearing someone read off a phone number and then remembering the number long enough to dial it.
Working memory deficits play a role in a variety of age-related cognitive problems, ncluding long-term memory, language, problem solving, and decision making. Older adults exhibit significant deficits in tasks that involve active manipulation, reorganization, or integration of the contents of working memory. In other words, an older adult with cognitive impairment may have a more difficult time remembering and dialing a phone number that was just told to them.
Tab Title: Long Term Memory
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Long-term memory can be divided into 6 sub-categories
a. Episodic Memory memory for personally experienced events that occurred in a particular place and at a particular time
b. Semantic Memory one's store of general knowledge about the world
c. Autobiographical Memory memory for one's personal past, including inherently episodic and semantic memories
d. Procedural Memory knowledge of skills and procedures such as playing an instrument
e. Implicit Memory refers to a change in behavior that occurs as a result of prior experience, although one has no conscious or explicit recollection of that prior experience
f. Prospective Memory remembering to do things in the future, such as pay bills.
Of these forms of long-term memory, aging-related cognitive decline principally affects episodic memory.
Tab Title: Perception
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Perception is defined as the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses. Declining sensory and perceptual abilities have important implications for the everyday lives of older adults. Hearing loss can isolate older people, preventing them from engaging in conversation and other social interactions. Visual impairments can limit mobility and interact with attentional deficits to make driving a particularly dangerous activity.