Pragmatic Skills in Late Adulthood

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Linguistics

Background:

• Healthy aging research indicates potential declines in pragmatic language production and comprehension.
• The specific trajectory and onset of these pragmatic difficulties in late adulthood remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the decline of pragmatic skills throughout the aging process.
• To identify cognitive and demographic factors that support pragmatic competence in older adults.

Main Methods:

• Assessed pragmatic production (discourse, picture descriptions) and comprehension (narrative, non-literal meaning, humor) in elderly and younger groups.
• Evaluated cognitive functions: short-term memory, working memory (verbal, visuospatial), inhibition, Theory of Mind (ToM), and Cognitive Reserve.

Main Results:

• Pragmatic difficulties appear in late adulthood, around age 70, especially in verbal humor comprehension.
• Age predicted general pragmatic performance in cognitively healthy older adults.
• Inhibitory control, working memory, and ToM became significant predictors in older adults with less intact inhibitory control.

Conclusions:

• Pragmatic language skills show a decline in aging, with humor comprehension being particularly vulnerable.
• Cognitive reserve and specific executive functions, such as inhibition, play a crucial role in maintaining pragmatic abilities in later life.