Reading, healthy cognitive ageing, and plasticity after brain injury
Final Report Abstract
The future of ageing mainly depends on cognitive health and plasticity in older age. It is, therefore, imperative to understand and promote healthy cognitive ageing. Its determining factors are, however, still unclear. Reading in older age may be an important factor determining not only our educational, social and economic success in society but also healthy cognitive ageing. But our knowledge about reading in older age and its promotion is still scant. Further, cognitive plasticity has mostly been investigated in the context of neurodegenerative diseases causing dementia and in nonnal ageing. Older age is commonly considered to adversely affect cognitive plasticity and, thus, functional and rehabilitation outcome after acquired brain injury. Although acquired brain injury and vision impairment are prominent causes of disability in old age, cognitive plasticity in visual disorders after brain injury has received little attention to date. Study 1 therefore investigated reading in the context of healthy cognitive ageing in older individuals, but not only reading achievement or literacy as in previous research but also reading performance, reading behaviour, reading motivation and the reading self-concept. These are more important aspects of reading in its relationship to healthy cognitive ageing that have never been investigated hitherto. Study 1 resulted in the development of the first economical, objective, valid and reliable standardized questionnaires for assessing reading behavior, reading motivation and the reading self-concept in older age. The results further demonstrated for the first time that reading behavior in older age is determined by the following key factors: frequency and amount of reading, reading materials, motives learning/education, personal development, relaxation/entertainment, and reading experience in terms of flow experience (depth of/pleasure during reading). Reading motivation and self-concept in older age are determined by intrinsic reading motivation, perceived reading competence and difficulties as well as attitudes towards reading. This is important knowledge for promoting reading (and its potential positive effects on healthy cognitive ageing) particularly in older age. Study 2 investigated plasticity in visual field disorders after brain injury in older age, demonstrating that older patients achieve the same treatment-induced Improvements with the same amount of treatment as younger patients; severity of functional impairment also does not differ between older and younger patients. Older age per se is not necessarily associated with a decline in practice-dependent functional plasticity and adaptation. To the contrary, the effectiveness of treatment to reduce the functional impairments to a similar extent in younger and older patients adds to the growing evidence for a life-long potential for adaptation to the adverse effects of brain injury.
Publications
- (2011). Entwicklungsneuropsychologie des Sehens. Frühförderung Interdisziplinär, 30, 213-220
Zihl, J, Zihl, JA, & Schuett, S
- (2011). Sehstörungen bei Kindern, 2nd ed. Vienna: Springer
Zihl, J, Mendius, K, Schuett, S, & Priglinger, S
- (2011). Ältere Menschen und Forschungsethik. In: A Felnhofer, OD Kothgassner, & I Kryspin-Exner (eds), Ethik in der Psychologie, 137-147, Vienna: UTB
Schuett, S, & Kryspin-Exner, I
- (2012). Gesundes, aktives Altern: Eine Frage des Lesens? BAGSO: Fachzeitschrift für Seniorenarbeit und Seniorenpolitik, 1, 29
Schuett, S
- (2012). Rehabilitation der visuellen Funktionen. In: P Michel & K-H Mauritz (eds), Neurologische Rehabilitation, Vienna: Springer
Schuett, S, & Zihl, J
- (2012). Rehabilitation of reading and visual exploration impairments in visual field disorders: Transfer or specificity? Brain, 135, 912-921
Schuett, S, Heywood, CA, Kentridge, RW, Dauner, R, & Zihl, J
- (2012). Störungen der visuellen Wahrnehmung. Nervenarzt. 83, 1053-1064
Schuett, S, & Zihl, J
