Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Sensory functioning and intelligence in old age: a strong connection

U Lindenberger1, P B Baltes

  • 1Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Education, Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany.

Psychology and Aging
|September 1, 1994
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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

Developmental Correlates of Epigenetic and Polygenic Indices of Cognition and Educational Attainment from Birth to Young Adulthood.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Erratum to: Dietary Tyrosine Intake (FFQ) Is Associated with Locus Coeruleus, Attention and Grey Matter Maintenance: An MRI Structural Study on 398 Healthy Individuals of the Berlin Aging Study-II.

The journal of nutrition, health & aging·2024
Same author

Dietary Tyrosine Intake (FFQ) Is Associated with Locus Coeruleus, Attention and Grey Matter Maintenance: An MRI Structural Study on 398 Healthy Individuals of the Berlin Aging Study-II.

The journal of nutrition, health & aging·2023
Same author

Healthy minds from 0-100 years: Optimising the use of European brain imaging cohorts ("Lifebrain").

European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists·2017
Same author

Military deployment correlates with smaller prefrontal gray matter volume and psychological symptoms in a subclinical population.

Translational psychiatry·2017
Same author

EVALUATING FACTOR INVARIANCE IN OBLIQUE SPACE: BASELINE DATA GENERATED FROM RANDOM NUMBERS.

Multivariate behavioral research·2016
Same journal

Semantic and episodic contributions of long-term memory to working memory in young and older adults.

Psychology and aging·2026
Same journal

Older adults exhibit multisensory-specific cognitive control effects.

Psychology and aging·2026
Same journal

Autobiographical memory and metacognition in aging: A preserved ability to monitor memory retrieval.

Psychology and aging·2026
Same journal

Self-perceptions of aging and volunteering in later life: Examining longitudinal bidirectional associations in the German Ageing Survey (DEAS).

Psychology and aging·2026
Same journal

Age-related changes in eye movements during pictorial recall in older adults.

Psychology and aging·2026
Same journal

Gait matters in spatial orientation: Age-related differences in real-world wayfinding and cognitive mapping.

Psychology and aging·2026
See all related articles

Good vision and hearing are crucial for maintaining cognitive abilities in old age. Sensory functioning significantly predicts intellectual performance, even in very old adults.

Area of Science:

  • Gerontology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Sensory Science

Background:

  • Age-related cognitive decline is a significant concern in gerontology.
  • Sensory functioning, including vision and hearing, may influence cognitive abilities in later life.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between sensory functioning (vision and hearing) and intelligence in older adults.
  • To determine if sensory acuity mediates age-related differences in cognitive abilities.

Main Methods:

  • A sample of 156 older adults (mean age 84.9 years) was assessed.
  • Intelligence was measured using 14 tests across five cognitive domains.
  • Visual and auditory acuity were evaluated.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Visual and auditory acuity explained 49.2% of the total variance in intelligence.
  • Sensory functioning accounted for 93.1% of the age-related variance in intelligence.
  • Age-related cognitive differences, including processing speed, were fully mediated by sensory functioning.

Conclusions:

  • Sensory functioning is a key predictor of intellectual functioning in late life.
  • Impaired vision and hearing may underlie cognitive decline in aging.
  • Sensory acuity could be an indicator of overall brain health in older adults.