Slowing down: age-related neurobiological predictors of processing speed

• Main Author: Mark A Eckert
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2011-03-01
• Series: Frontiers in Neuroscience
• Subjects: Aging; Cerebellum; processing speed; prefrontal; Source Based Morphometry
• Online Access: http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnins.2011.00025/full

Processing speed, or the rate at which tasks can be performed, is a robust predictor of age-relatedcognitive decline and an indicator of independence among older adults. This review examines evidence for neurobiological predictors of age-related changes in processing speed, which is guided in part by our source based morphometry findings that unique patterns of frontal and cerebellar gray matter predict age-related variation in processing speed. These results, together with the extant literature on morphological predictors of age-related changes in processing speed, suggest that specific neural systems undergo declines and as a result slow processing speed. Future studies of processing speed - dependent neural systems will be important for identifying the etiologies for processing speed change and the development of interventions that mitigate gradual age-related declines in cognitive functioning and enhance healthy cognitive aging.