MEMORY AND COGNITIVE-ABILITIES IN UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS - EVIDENCE FOR SUCCESSFUL AGING

Professors from the University of California at Berkeley were administered a 90-min rest battery of cognitive performance that included measures of reaction time, paired associate learning, working memory, and prose recall. Age effects among the professors were observed on tests of reaction time, paired-associate memory, and some aspects of working memory. Age effects were not observed on measures of proactive interference and prose recall, though age-related declines are generally observed in standard groups of elderly individuals. The findings suggest that age-related decrements in certain cognitive functions may be mitigated in intelligent, cognitively active individuals.