How does aging affect cognition?
By Fariss Samarrai Betty and Gil Black hope to age gracefully. They are in their mid- to late 70s and are, in fact, still graceful. They are healthy, they think well and live well, but they also find that they are sometimes forgetful, that tasks take longer to perform. If you start forgetting words, you start wondering if you re on the verge of Alzheimer s, Betty said. You start to wonder how you re doing compared to other people in your age group. The Blacks are participating in a new U.Va. psychology department study to better understand how aging affects cognition. The study, which will include up to 250 participants of varying ages, is funded by a $1.27 million grant from the National Institute on Aging. More than 180 people between the ages of 18 and 94 have participated in the study, and investigators are looking for more participants. The institute also has awarded nearly $1.5 million to the psychology department for a long-term project to conduct doctoral training for investiga
