ABSTRACT
This chapter describes basic age-related changes in cognition and theories of cognitive aging, various intervention approaches that have been explored to combat age-related cognitive decline, and discusses evidence for the efficacy of different methods to boost cognitive performance. It also describes how age impacts technology use and the potential of technology to support the independence of older adults. The chapter provides a basic characterization of normative age-related perceptual and cognitive declines informed by the literature. These are declines that most of us can expect to experience. The chapter characterizes basic age-related changes, discusses theories of cognitive aging and summarizes some of the changes to the nervous system thought to play a role in declining perceptual and cognitive abilities. Finally, it concludes with a discussion of proposed methods to prevent, reduce, or reverse cognitive aging, or lessen their impact on independence.
