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Improving Cognitive Function in Older Adults: Nontraditional Approaches

¹ University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
² Harvard University, Cambridge, and the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charleston, Massachusetts.

Address correspondence to Denise C. Park, Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, 405 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801. E-mail: denisep{at}uiuc.edu

This article considers two nontraditional approaches for developing interventions to improve cognition in older adults. Neither of these approaches relies on traditional explicit training of specific abilities in the laboratory. The first technique involves the activation of automatic processes through the formation of implementation intentions that enhance the probability that a desired action will be completed, such as remembering to take medications. The second involves experimentally studying the role of active social and cognitive engagement in improving cognition. We then consider methodological issues associated with the use of these novel techniques.

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