Now this is the type of research I like to read at the age of 52, pushing 53. We know sporting ability tends to peak at between 24–28 for most sports, similarly we know that mathematical ability peaks early, late 20s. But from then on, many assume, it is all downhill, albeit at a slow pace, then with ever increasing speed.
However, there has been hope for those ageing. We know that certain mental functions improve or stay with age, Wisdom increases as we age, as does vocabulary. Increasingly we have seen a whole bunch of sports people lasting longer and longer — the big 3 in Tennis are all well into their 30’s unthinkable 20 years ago.
But this piece of research nails down more cognitive skills that improve with age and they are really important cognitive skills at that. The researchers around John Verssimo at Georgetown University Medical Center looked into brain networks involved in alerting, orienting, and executive inhibition in 702 participants aged between 58 and 92.
“These results are…
