Abstract
Abstract The effect of age on cognition was examined with a variety of neuropsychological tests in 220 aircraft pilots. The assessment included tests of psychomotor speed, information processing speed, attention and executive ability, verbal learning and memory, and visual learning and memory. Pilot age was between 28 and 62 with a mean ageof48years. Test performance was regressed on pilot age to determine the function (linear or nonlinear) of age-related differences in cognition. Individual performance was also examined by assessing outlier test scores (> 2 SD) relative to the overall group mean. Age was significantly associated with test performance across several domains; when significant, a linear function best described the association. Pilot age was not associated with immediate verbal recall or recognition or with immediate visual recall. Almost all performance outliers occurred in pilots over 40 years old. Implications of a gradual decline in pilot cognition are discussed as well as the consideration of a subgroup of relatively poor cognitive performing pilots and the potential importance of assessing individual differences.
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