Sharp as a Senior

A group of seniors was able to recall information eight months after being taught, a new study says

By Perry Gattegno
CTW Features

Seniors may be able to retain mental abilities assumed to decline with age, according to research conducted by doctors at Ryerson University, Toronto, and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin.

Forty-seven seniors in their 70s and 80s participated in a series of tests designed to test their reasoning, processing speed and visual attention and were re-tested eight months later. The researchers were stunned to find that the seniors were able to maintain half of the concepts presented to them.

"This finding was astonishing," says Dr. Lixia Yang, the study's lead author and director of the Cognitive Aging Lab at Ryerson's Department of Psychology. "We always assumed that seniors would have great difficulty in grasping new concepts and maintaining what they've learned. But our research demonstrates this is not always the case."

One test, which gauged visual attention skills, asked the seniors to find "target" letters, like a "d" with dots below and above it, within a pattern of similarly designed letters, as fast as possible.

"This study suggests that seniors' minds are still sharp," Dr. Yang says, "and they can be productive members of the workplace, as long as they receive appropriate training."

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