Culture and the Aging Brain

Abstract

Research in the cognitive neuroscience of aging has revealed several significant changes that alter the functioning of the brain over an individual’s lifetime. Particularly, some of these discoveries have contributed to our understanding of age-related degenerative diseases and cognitive decline. Most of these studies have, however, been conducted in Western (North American and Western European) populations, casting doubt on the universality of these findings. Cross-cultural investigations allow for the distinction between changes in the brain that are a consequence of aging and those changes that are due to the impact of life experiences. Research suggests that different cultures place emphasis on distinct aspects of information and use different strategies for processing this information (Nisbett and Masuda, 2003). Therefore, performing cognitive studies taking into account cultural context may provide an effective avenue for differentiating between age-related neural changes that persist across cultures and those that are driven by culture specific life experiences.