The Cambridge Handbook of Cognitive Aging A Life Course Perspective

Decades of research have demonstrated that normal aging is accompanied by cognitive change. Much of this change has been conceptualized as a decline in function. However, age-related changes are not universal, and decrements in older adult performance may be moderated by experience, genetics, and environmental factors. Cognitive aging research to date has also largely emphasized biological changes in the brain, with less evaluation of the range of external contributors to behavioral manifestations of age-related decrements in performance. This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of cutting-edge cognitive aging research through the lens of a life course perspective that takes into account both behavioral and neural changes. Focusing on the fundamental principles that characterize a life course approach - genetics, early life experiences, motivation, emotion, social contexts, and lifestyle interventions - this handbook is an essential resource for researchers in cognition, aging, and gerontology.

Part I. Overview of Models of Cognitive Aging: 1. Introduction and overview; 2. Cognitive reserve; 3. How age-related changes in the brain affect cognition; 4. Neuroadaptive trajectories of healthy mindspan: from genes to neural networks; 5. Cognitive aging: role of neurotransmitter systems; 6. How arousal-related neurotransmitter systems compensate for age-related decline; Part I summary; Part II. Overview of Models of Cognitive Aging: 7. Aging effects on brain and cognition: what do we learn from a strategy perspective?; 8. Inhibitory theory: assumptions, findings, and relevance to interventions; 9. From perception to action: bottom-up and top-down influences on age differences in attention; 10. Age-related sensory deficits and their consequences; 11. Episodic memory decline in aging; 12. Age differences in decision making; 13. Emotion and memory; 14. Time perception from seconds to lifetimes: how perceived time affects adult development; Part II summary; Part III. Aging in a Social Context: 15. Memory and aging in social contexts; 16. Emotion regulation in adulthood and old age: a cognitive aging perspective on strategy use and effectiveness; 17. Changes in social and emotional well-being over the life span; 18. Aging and cognitive functioning: the impact of goals and motivation; 19. Social relationships and cognitive development in adulthood; 20. Emotion recognition and aging of the social brain; 21. Narrative and identity: the importance of our personal past in later life; 22. Stereotype threat and the cognitive performance of older adults; Part III summary; Part IV. Early Life and Biological Factors: 23. Prenatal influences on cognitive aging; 24. Associations between activity participation across the life course and cognitive aging; 25. Cognitive aging and culture: older brain predictions about different environments; 26. Current perspectives on aging and bilingualism across the life span; 27. Grit and successful aging; 28. Control and cognition: contextual and individual differences in cognitive aging; 29. Cognition and well-being across adulthood and old age; 30. The genetics of cognitive abilities; 31. Blood biomarkers of cognitive health and neurodegenerative disease; Part IV summary; Part V. Later Life and Interventions: 32. Cerebrovascular disease, aging, and depression: clinical features, pathophysiology, and treatment; 33. The role of nutrition in cognitive decline; 34. Sleep's role in cognitive aging; 35. Examination of the relationship between accelerometer-derived metrics of physical activity and cognition among older adults; 36. Far transfer and cognitive training: examination of two hypotheses on mechanisms; 37. Maximizing the impact of cognitive engagement interventions for older adults; 38. Mobility and cognitive decline in older adults with cognitive impairment; 39. Current and emerging technologies for supporting successful aging; Part V summary.

Ayanna K. Thomas is Professor of Psychology at Tufts University, Massachusetts. She takes a translational approach to the study of memory and age-related changes in cognition by applying basic science findings to areas such as eyewitness memory, education, and cognitive aging.
Angela Gutchess is Associate Professor of Psychology at Brandeis University, Massachusetts, with appointments in the Neuroscience Program and the Volen Center for Complex Systems. Her research investigates the influence of age and culture on memory and social cognition, using behavioral, neuroimaging (fMRI), electrophysiological (EEG), and patient research methods.