ABSTRACT
The primary focus of this chapter is an examination of the neurophysiological correlates of the behavioral alterations. In addition, an approach to neuropsychological testing of the elderly will be suggested that stresses the importance of evaluating the process underlying both adequate and inadequate final achievement. Learning tasks have also shown a decline in performance with age. Since several paradigms have been administered, with and without time constraints, to populations sampled cross-sectionally and longitudinally, it is instructive to compare the results to those just reported with regard to intelligence testing. Before one can convincingly argue that aging implicates the brain selectively and focally, as opposed to all areas of the brain equally, it is necessary to administer a comprehensive battery of tests sensitive to the measurement of brain-behavior relationships. A unique aspect of the study was its quantification of naturalistic observations of test behavior. Though both language and visuospatial behavior were examined in this manner, only visuospatial performance is reported here.
