For many years, the vast majority of research indicated that older adults experience a decline in brain function as the years go by—this was undoubtedly the dominant scientific assumption. According to the American Psychological Association, cognitive function refers to "the performance of mental processing of perception, learning, memory, understanding, awareness, causality, judgment, intuition, and language"—and thus includes abilities like cognitive flexibility, working memory, and self-control. Researchers and experts in the field have long believed that there is a point in life where the cognitive function of our brain weakens, and people begin to experience a decline in this important area. However, a study published in August 2021 in the journal *Nature Human Behaviour* reveals surprising findings that challenge this assumption and may be of great interest to all of us.
This is how the study that found cognitive functions improving with age was conducted
As mentioned, in contrast to the prevailing scientific belief until now, the latest research paints a slightly less bleak picture regarding aging—its results show that there may be areas in the brain that actually improve in function with age. Dr. Michael T. Ullman, a professor in the Department of Neuroscience and director of the Brain and Language Laboratory at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., USA, who was the lead researcher in this study, points out: "People largely assume that attention and executive functions of the brain decline with age, despite intriguing hints from small-scale studies that raise questions about these assumptions."
To see if there was any substance to these hints and whether the situation might indeed be partially reversed, the researchers recruited 702 participants aged 58-98 for this study and examined their abilities in three main categories of cognitive function:
Dr. João Veríssimo, a senior lecturer at the University of Lisbon and the study's lead author, described how these three processes work: "We continuously use all three processes. For example, when you're driving a car—alertness is your heightened readiness as you approach an intersection. Orientation occurs when you shift your attention to an unexpected event—like a pedestrian. The executive functions allow you to block out distractions, such as birds on billboards, so you can stay focused on driving."
The researchers tested the cognitive function of the study participants using a computerized Attention Network Test (ANT), which examines the participants' response levels to target stimuli appearing on the screen and measures the efficiency of all three networks (skills) simultaneously, according to the study's authors.
While previous studies have taught us that all three of the main processes mentioned decline with age, in this study, the researchers found that only alertness abilities decrease, while the other two processes—orientation and executive functions—actually improve. "These findings are remarkable and have important implications for how we should view aging," says Dr. Ullman, "The results from our large study suggest that critical components of these abilities actually improve during aging, likely because we practice these skills throughout life."
While the current study we've presented to you shows that orientation processes and executive functions in the brain can improve with age, it is known that it is also possible to help this happen through certain activities. Although the study does not attempt to identify how we can do this in practice, Dr. João Veríssimo has some verbal advice: "I would say that cognitive abilities are more likely to improve through engagement in multiple and diverse activities." Dr. Veríssimo points to several such activities—like learning a second language, playing a musical instrument, attending educational courses, and forming social connections—that together can boost general abilities, "in addition to targeted training aimed at specific skills," he says.
However, it should be noted that the study's authors clarify that although "such interventions are promising," more information and data on them need to be collected in the future. Dr. Ullman also addresses this and notes that "evidence suggests that one can indeed enhance executive function skills through training—for example, via apps or online programs—though it is still unclear to what extent these improvements can reach." He further clarifies that "it is plausible, but not entirely certain, that one might be able to deliberately improve executive function abilities during aging through targeted training."
In any case, it seems that this encouraging news, coming to us from a relatively broad study, should be further confirmed in follow-up studies to accurately understand which activities will indeed help us keep our brains functioning at their best as the years go by. Once that happens, it may be that we will all want to add some form of brain training to our daily routine...
