Cognitive Interventions

Research findings in recent years from both animal models and on human learners converge clearly on the conclusion that there is plasticity in brain and behavior throughout the adult life span. This chapter considers the different types of interventions that vary in the extent to which they involve direct exercise of target outcomes, from retest effects that are highly specific to target outcomes, to ability-specific training of different sorts, to lifestyle interventions that may only be tangentially related to measured outcomes. It also describes challenges for developing evidence-based principles of cognitive optimization that can be authentically translated into programs and social structures with potential to instantiate successful aging as a cultural norm. Thus, it serves both the practical function of informing the creation of evidence-based programs with potential to promote independence, social engagement, and continued participation in work and in civic institutions, as well as the scientific function of testing theories of cognitive aging. © 2011