Language and Aging: A Neuro-Cognitive Assessment of Aging Across the Lifespan
Abstract
As we age, there is often some degree of cognitive decline. Difficulty with speech comprehension and language production often provokes frustrating experiences across the lifespan, especially in older adults. These encounters do not solely influence cognition, but also human perception and interaction within society (Hummert et al., 2004; Kemper, Finter-Urczyk, Ferrell, Harden, & Billington, 1998). Interestingly, studies have indicated that language comprehension is maintained as language production declines. While aging is frequently linked to detrimental effects in speaking, there is still a clear sense of knowing the word. There are competing theories regarding the underlying causes of age-related deficits in and speech, such as transmission vs inhibitory deficits, compensation and dedifferentiation, and processing speed. These cognitive changes are associated with neural decline, and word retrieval failures. Studies have presented the notion that older adults are often slower and less efficient compared to younger adults, raising the possibility that retrieval issues may be influenced by age-related declines in phonology and processing speed. In this study, we looked at two factors that might influence speech: phonology and frequency. One aspect of the study stresses the connection between phonological neighborhood density (PND) and word retrieval failures to develop our understanding of the neurological and behavioral foundations of age-related deficits in speech. In correlation with PND’s, high frequency words (apple, cat, house), also have been shown to have a notable influence on word retrieval. Retrieval deficits often occur when individuals encounter words with sparse phonological neighborhoods as well as low frequency words (banjo vs cat). We are interested in how cognition, age, and the brain affect language production. Here, we used the picture naming task to examine reactions times and activation levels across the lifespan. The experimental study analyzed the number of neighbors a word has in correlation with high frequency words to interpret whether this changes the way we process information.
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