Cognitive Functioning and Everyday Performance in Older Adults
Summary
As populations age globally, understanding how cognitive changes influence daily living has become imperative. Cognitive functioning encompasses domains such as memory, attention, processing speed and executive control, all of which underpin skills required for independent living, including household tasks, financial management and social engagement. Ageing is associated with gradual declines in processing speed and aspects of memory, while executive control—responsible for planning, task switching and inhibition—may show more pronounced vulnerability in some individuals. These changes can translate into reduced efficiency in everyday activities, diminished quality of life and increased care needs. However, individual trajectories vary widely, influenced by factors such as education, physical fitness, comorbidities and social engagement. Early detection of subtle functional decline through brief performance tests and informant-based questionnaires offers opportunities for timely interventions. Emerging evidence highlights the potential of motor and digital biomarkers to serve as proxies for cognitive health, thus providing accessible means to monitor ageing individuals in community and clinical settings.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have employed brief informant-rated scales to bridge subjective reports of daily functioning with objective cognitive and neuroimaging metrics in individuals at the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Analysis of everyday cognition domains—particularly memory and executive function—has revealed consistent associations with regional hypometabolism in angular and posterior cingulate cortices, demonstrating how functional complaints map onto neural substrates. These findings underscore the value of concise everyday cognition instruments in detecting functional impairment that parallels both neuropsychological decline and underlying brain changes, and they support the integration of such tools into routine assessments to improve diagnostic precision and guide early intervention strategies.
Cognitive Functioning and Everyday Performance in Older Adults publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in cognitive functioning and everyday performance in older adults across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Executive function: Higher-order cognitive processes involved in planning, task switching, inhibition and goal-directed behaviour.
Activities of daily living (ADLs): Routine tasks essential for personal self-care and independent living, such as dressing, bathing and meal preparation.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI): A prodromal stage characterised by measurable cognitive decline greater than expected for age and education, without significant interference in ADLs.
Hypometabolism: Reduced metabolic activity in brain regions, often measured by fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, indicating impaired neuronal function.
References
- Investigating the associations between upper limb motor function and cognitive impairment: a scoping review. GeroScience (2023).
- Everyday cognition scales are related to cognitive function in the early stage of probable Alzheimer’s disease and FDG-PET findings. Scientific Reports (2017).
- Detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment Through Natural Language and Touchscreen Typing Processing. Frontiers in Digital Health (2020).
- Diverse Motor Performances Are Related to Incident Cognitive Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience (2021).
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