Abstract
Age-associated cognitive decline is a normal, non-pathological and inevitable human occurrence. Therefore, it remains a research priority to assess the role of certain protective factors, such as age, gender, and marital status, that influence age-associated cognitive decline to intervene in the stemming of its progress and guide theory, policy, and practice. The study used a dissociative paradigm, using two measures to assess both short-term and visuo-spatial memory, to clarify the unestablished results of whether cognitive ageing occurs in one subsystem (i.e., modular) or across the whole brain (i.e., generalised). Participants (N = 126; 79 females and 46 males) from Sydney, New South Wales were recruited and divided into three age groups: 18 - 27, 27 - 62, and 62+. Participants completed an online questionnaire, with computer administered tasks, assessing visuo-spatial and short-term memory. A Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) revealed no significant covariate effects; covariates entered included participants’ total scores from psychometrically established measures addressing engagement with social networks, depressive symptomology, personal wellbeing, and resilience. Consistent with previous findings, results from a Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) supported the notion that being married is a protective factor in slowing down the progression of age-associated cognitive decline (i.e., visuo-spatial memory), in comparison to being single or in a de facto relationship. Older adults who were married performed lower on visuo-spatial memory tasks than younger adults. Support for the generalised model of ageing was revealed. Future directions and implications of the study’s findings indicate the need to maximise protective interventions for those who are single or in a de facto relationship, and the brain as a whole system, to prevent unwarranted cognitive decline.
Highlights
Age-associated cognitive decline is considered a hallmark of ageing, a normal, non-pathological human occurrence (Deary et al, 2009)
It remains a research priority to assess the role of certain protective factors, such as age, gender, and marital status, that influence age-associated cognitive decline to intervene in the stemming of its progress and guide theory, policy, and practice
The current study examined the impact of age, gender, and marital status on non-pathological cognitive ageing, after controlling for the effects of expected cognitive reserve factors, due to their suggested salience
Summary
Age-associated cognitive decline is considered a hallmark of ageing, a normal, non-pathological human occurrence (Deary et al, 2009). Performance on the NINL is sensitive to the effects of a gene allele (i.e., apolipoprotein E4), which is a known risk factor for developing late onset Alzheimer’s disease (Berteau-Pavy et al, 2007; Haley, Berteau-Pavy, Park, & Raber, 2010; Raber, 2015) For this reason, the current study aimed to contribute to the research by the use of an extension of the NINL, namely, The Bond Novel Image Novel Location-Revised (NINL_BR; Carroll & Bahr, 2015) to assess visuo-spatial memory in an Australian community sample, ensuring age-related changes were conservatively detected. The current study examined the impact of age, gender, and marital status on non-pathological cognitive ageing, after controlling for the effects of expected cognitive reserve factors (i.e., depressive symptomology, resilience, personal wellbeing, and engagement with social networks), due to their suggested salience. A forward digit span task (DST) to assess STM was used as a comparison to the measure of interest (i.e., NINL_BR), which assessed visuo-spatial memory
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