Definition
Cognitive aging has been the target of both prevention and intervention approaches aiming to help older adults maintain cognitive vitality for as long a period as possible. Prevention approaches tackle this challenge by seeking to understand the individual differences and situational factors that can prevent or protect against accelerated cognitive decline; by definition, this approach takes a more lifespan perspective. In contrast, intervention approaches tend to focus on identifying treatments that can alter cognitive decline in older adulthood; by definition, this approach is more likely to be studied in those who have already reached a later period of life. Common to both approaches is (a) the understanding that aspects of cognition that normatively remain stable with age (e.g., general knowledge, vocabulary, and wisdom) can often serve as a compensatory function for declines in other areas, and (b) the desire to delineate which cognitive dimensions retain enough...
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Shake, M.C., Blake, C.D. (2021). Prevention and Intervention Approaches for Cognitive Aging. In: Lester, J.N., O'Reilly, M. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Critical Perspectives on Mental Health. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12852-4_68-1
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