Affiliations: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL,
USA | University of Texas, Dallas, TX, USA
Note: [] Corresponding author: Joshua Goh, Beckman Institute, University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 North Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
E-mil: jogoh2@illinois.edu
Abstract: A recent proposal called the Scaffolding Theory of Cognitive Aging
(STAC) postulates that functional changes with aging are part of a lifespan
process of compensatory cognitive scaffolding that is an attempt to alleviate
the cognitive declines associated with aging. Indeed, behavioral studies have
shown that aging is associated with both decline as well as preservation of
selective cognitive abilities. Similarly, neuroimaging studies have revealed
selective changes in the aging brain that reflect neural decline as well as
compensatory neural recruitment. While aging is associated with reductions in
cortical thickness, white-matter integrity, dopaminergic activity, and
functional engagement in posterior brain regions such as the hippocampus and
occipital areas, there are compensatory increases in frontal functional
engagement that correlate with better behavioral performance in older adults.
In this review, we discuss these age-related behavioral and brain findings that
support the STAC model of cognitive scaffolding and additionally integrate the
findings on neuroplasticity as a compensatory response in the aging brain. As
such, we also examine the impact of external experiences in facilitating
neuroplasticity in older adults. Finally, having laid the foundation for STAC,
we briefly describe a proposed intervention trial (The Synapse Program)
designed to evaluate the behavioral and neural impact of engagement in
lifestyle activities that facilitates successful cognitive scaffolding using a
controlled experiment where older adult participants are randomly assigned to
different conditions of engagement.
