School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
J Neurosci Nurs. 2012 Feb;44(1):43-53. doi: 10.1097/JNN.0b013e31823ae48b.
One aspect of successful aging is maintaining cognitive functioning, which includes both subjective cognitive functioning and objective cognitive functioning even in lieu of subtle cognitive deficits that occur with normal, nonpathological aging. Age-related cognitive deficits emerge across several domains including attention, memory, language, speed of processing, executive, and psychomotor, just to name a few. A primary theory explaining such cognitive deficits is cognitive reserve theory; it posits that biological factors such as demyelination and oxidative stress interfere with neuronal communication, which eventually produces observable deficits in cognitive functioning. Therefore, it is important to maintain or improve cognitive reserve to augment cognitive functioning in later life. This article provides a general overview of the principles of geroneuropsychology along with implications for nursing practice and research.
成功老龄化的一个方面是保持认知功能,这包括主观认知功能和客观认知功能,即使在正常、非病理性衰老过程中出现轻微的认知缺陷也是如此。与年龄相关的认知缺陷出现在多个领域,包括注意力、记忆、语言、处理速度、执行能力和心理运动能力等。解释这种认知缺陷的一个主要理论是认知储备理论;它假设脱髓鞘和氧化应激等生物因素干扰神经元的通讯,最终导致认知功能出现可观察到的缺陷。因此,保持或提高认知储备以增强晚年的认知功能非常重要。本文概述了神经老年学的原则及其对护理实践和研究的意义。