Shared and unique genetic and environmental influences on aging-related changes in multiple cognitive abilities.

ABSTRACT: Aging-related declines occur in many different domains of cognitive function during middle and late adulthood. However, whether a global dimension underlies individual differences in changes in different domains of cognition and whether global genetic influences on cognitive changes exist is less clear. We addressed these issues by applying multivariate growth curve models to longitudinal data from 857 individuals from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging, who had been measured on 11 cognitive variables representative of verbal, spatial, memory, and processing speed abilities up to 5 times over up to 16 years between ages 50 and 96 years. Between ages 50 and 65 years scores on different tests changed relatively independently of one another, and there was little evidence for strong unde

SUBMITTER: Tucker-Drob EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4135450 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature