Abstract
Many cognitive abilities decrease with increasing age. Especially memory executive functions and slowness are relevant in this respect. Up till now this has been regarded as a reflection of the 'normal' physiological aging process. However, this paper shows that age-extrinsic factors determine cognitive performance more then calender age per se. Healthy subjects with so called Biological Life Events (BLE) appear to be characterized by inferior performance on various cognitive tests. In addition, primitive reflexes are especially present in subjects with BLE or in non-demented patients with memory dysfunctions. The findings suggest that it is important to take health-related factors such as the BLE in consideration in cognitive gerontological research. They may have a causal role in altering brain function and thus give rise to altered brain processes such as manifested by cognitive changes.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | S47-S50 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Neuroscience Research Communications |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | S1 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 1993 |