Not All is Bad with Older Age: a Comprehensive Overview of Cognitive Control in Healthy Aging

Declines in cognitive control impact older adults’ daily life and independence. Cognitive control frameworks distinguish different subcomponents, such as inhibition, updating, shifting, proactive and reactive control. A comprehensive overview of how these subcomponents develop in aging is lacking, with research typically focusing on small samples treated as a homogenous age group, targeting a single subcomponent, or using heterogenous tasks across studies. In the current study, young adults (N=75) and three cohorts of older adults (N=231) completed an extensive test battery assessing multiple subcomponents of cognitive control. Results showed improved response inhibition and interference control in older vs. young adults, decreased updating and shifting with age, and preserved proactive control in older adults. These findings show that changes in cognitive control subcomponents follow different onsets and trajectories, highlighting the importance of including them in cognitive aging research. Longitudinal follow-up studies can help uncover inter- and intra-individual changes in subcomponents with aging.