Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Mental acuity of the normal elderly

W F Gorman, C D Campbell

The Journal of the Oklahoma State Medical Association

|March 1, 1995

Summary

Normal aging involves mild psychological deficits like slowed thinking. Cognitive training and early education can help prevent and treat age-related cognitive decline in older adults.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Tabular foundation model predicts alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) and identifies SMARCAL1 as a target in ALT-driven cancers.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Recurrent Lung Injury Resulting From Unusual Cases of Aero-Digestive Disease.

Dysphagia·2023

Same author

Marked deterioration in rheumatoid arthritis associated bronchiectasis following treatment with Rituximab.

Respiratory medicine case reports·2019

Same author

Psychosis in Addison's disease.

Diseases of the nervous system·2010

Same author

Microbial DNA profiling by multiplex terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism for forensic comparison of soil and the influence of sample condition.

Journal of applied microbiology·2008

Same author

A case of Budd-Chiari Syndrome presenting in a lady with newly diagnosed Churg-Strauss Syndrome.

Rheumatology (Oxford, England)·2007

Area of Science:

Gerontology
Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience

Background:

The elderly population (over 65) constitutes 12% of the total population.
Normal aging is characterized by mild psychological deficits, distinct from dementia.
Terms like age-associated memory impairment and age-related cognitive decline describe these normal changes.

Purpose of the Study:

To define, criticize, and tabulate the psychological deficits observed in normally aging individuals.
To describe objective psychological tests that assess cognitive function in daily living situations.
To investigate the preventive and therapeutic effects of education and cognitive training on normal aging.

Main Methods:

Tabulation of normal elderly self-care and social activities.
Definition and critique of terms for mild psychological deficits in aging.
Description of objective psychological tests (name-face, fire alarm, recall, misplaced objects, shopping list, digit symbol).

Main Results:

Psychological deficits in the elderly include mild generalized slowing and inaccuracies compared to younger individuals.
Objective tests effectively measure these deficits in real-life contexts.
Longer early formal education is associated with reduced mental dulling during normal aging.

Conclusions:

Cognitive training, particularly using overlearning techniques, offers significant benefits for managing age-related cognitive changes.
Early education plays a preventive role against mental dulling in normal aging.
Understanding and addressing mild cognitive deficits are crucial for maintaining functional independence in the elderly.

Related Experiment Videos