Cognitive Change Before Old Age (11 to 70) Predicts

Cognitive Change During Old Age (70 to 82)

Psychological Science in the Public Eye

Psychological ScienceVolume 33, Issue 11, November 2022, Pages 1803-1817

A study by Federica P. Conte et al in the Psychological Science journal suggests that

cognitive change before old age (from ages 11-70) predicts higher cognitive change during
older ages (ranging from 70-82). It aims to understand how cognitive change at a younger age
can predict the rate of cognitive processing during older ages. The baseline of the study is to
identify predictors of cognitive decline as the risk of dementia and decline in cognitive
processing increases. It can be inferred that individual differences in cognitive processing
reflect the rate and likelihood of cognitive development and decline. It also aims to
understand the nature of cognitive decline and processing. 3 major cognitive domains were
tested; visuospatial processing, memory as well as processing speed. These general cognitive
ability domains show that 71.3% of interindividual change variance is accounted for. The
greater the cognitive gain from ages 11-70 predicted a slower decline in general cognitive
ability after 70. Cognitive decline can impact aging, one’s daily life and activities, producing
a lower quality of life as well as proving financial consequences. A combination of these
factors urged psychological researchers to conduct scientific investigations to further
understand the functioning of cognitive decline. The purpose of the study is to identify people
at higher risk of age related cognitive decline. The hypothesis being tested is that cognitive
change in general and domain specific abilities after the age of 70 might be predicted by
cognitive change and development up to the age of 70.

The sample included 1,091 people. The method of research was a case study. A longitudinal
study known as LBC1936 is a study about aging, the brain and cognition. All the participants
were born in the year 1936. They were given a test to take known as the Moray House Test
No. 12 (MHT) at the age of 11. This was taken as a part of the Scottish Mental Survery in the
year 1947. Amongst the same participants. 5 waves of follow up testing was conducted when
the sample age group ranged from ages 70-82. The methodology was based on secondary
research. With each wave of assessments; the sample number decreased based on scores not
being available or scores that deviated significantly from the sample mean. Wave one was a
verbal reasoning test testing word classification, reasoning, analogies, arithmetic and spatial
reasoning. The tests provide a single score determining one’s cognitive abilities. Participants
also reported their own occupation as well as their father’s which divided the participants into
different and appropriate social class categories.

Results showed a general improvement between age 11 and age 70 scored with a mean of
15.23 points of increase. It was seen that a greater improvement of scores of the MHT
between ages of 11 and 70 proved a slower decline in cognitive processing in the ages 70 to
82. The MHT score at the age of 11 which was used to predict childhood cognitive ability
could determine a level of general cognitive ability but not the relative change that can occur.
In follow up analyses; correlations between education and cognitive decline remained
irrelevant and had no scientific connection. Cognitive ability was tested for the participants
from ages 70 to 82. 10 tests were administered relating to 3 domains; visuospatial ability ,
memory and logical memory. After conducting each test, each result was multiplied by -1 so
that the higher test scores could indicate a better performance. Cognitive change in the older
age group was estimated using the factor of curves model. The slopes were estimated for each
domain from the cognitive baseline tasks.

Individual differences in cognitive change between ages 11 and 70 measured on the same
generability test at the age of 11, which significantly predicted differences from ages 70 to
82. This study is the only study comparing cognitive rates across such large periods of an
individual’s life span. The results urge researchers to search for cognitive change
determinants in earlier stages of life which can be relevant to cognitive decline later in life.
Data from this study and other studies such as Tucker-Drob et al., 2019 show that beginning
around the age of 70, more than 50% of interindividual variability stems from differences in
general cognitive abilities rather than domain specific cognitive decline.
Some limitations of the study are that the MHT only provides one single score per participant
which can be influenced by a number of factors. No follow up tests were confused between
the ages of 11 and 70, thus no external and situational factors could be taken into
consideration when conducting the second test. It was also seen that this population was
healthier than the population average of the 1930’s and the health standards as well as
cognitive processing in 2022 are relatively changed. All participants were born in the same
year and have the same geographical setting; hence the generalizability of this study is low.
Thus, one can conclude that individual differences in cognitive decline arise from many
diverse factors, each having a small influence (Corley et al., 2018; Deary et al., 2012). It has
been proven that identifying individuals at high risks of cognitive decline pior to the critical
years of accelerating dementia and other cognitive based health issues.
Reference list:

1. Conte, F. P. (2022). Cognitive Change Before Old Age (11 to 70) Predicts Cognitive
Change During Old Age (70 to 82). Psychological Science , 33(11), 1803–1817.
Retrieved November 29, 2022, from
https://journals-sagepub-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/doi/epub/10.1177/0956797
6221100264.