AUTHOR=Eckert Mark A. TITLE=Slowing Down: Age-Related Neurobiological Predictors of Processing Speed JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience VOLUME=5 YEAR=2011 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2011.00025 DOI=10.3389/fnins.2011.00025 ISSN=1662-453X ABSTRACT=

Processing speed, or the rate at which tasks can be performed, is a robust predictor of age-related cognitive decline and an indicator of independence among older adults. This review examines evidence for neurobiological predictors of age-related changes in processing speed, which is guided in part by our source based morphometry findings that unique patterns of frontal and cerebellar gray matter predict age-related variation in processing speed. These results, together with the extant literature on morphological predictors of age-related changes in processing speed, suggest that specific neural systems undergo declines and as a result slow processing speed. Future studies of processing speed – dependent neural systems will be important for identifying the etiologies for processing speed change and the development of interventions that mitigate gradual age-related declines in cognitive functioning and enhance healthy cognitive aging.