Do clever brains age more slowly? Further exploration of a nun result.
Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that individuals who have higher levels of mental ability in youth experience a slower cognitive decline as they grow old. In a sample of 3,263 Newcastle residents, average scores on a vocabulary test (Raven's 1965 'Mill Hill A') did not vary, while average scores on a test of fluid mental ability (the Heim, 1970, AH 4 (1) group intelligence test) sharply declined with age from 49 to 92 years. In young adults, Mill Hill A scores are good proxies for AH 4 (1) scores. This relationship allowed individuals' youthful AH 4 (1) test scores to be estimated from their current, unchanged, Mill Hill A scores so that age-related changes in AH 4 test scores over the adult life-span could be estimated and compared between high and low ability groups, men and women, and individuals of different levels of socio-economic advantage. The cross-sectional estimated rate of age-related decline in general mental ability was found to be the same for people of all levels of ability and socio-economic advantage, and not to differ between men and women.
Rabbitt
Patrick
P
Age and Cognitive Performance Research Centre, University of Manchester, UK. rabbitt@psy.man.ac.uk
Chetwynd
Amanda
A
McInnes
Lynn
L
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology*; D007361:Intelligence Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007807:Language Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009790:Occupations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D006113:United Kingdom