BIO

I am here at Florida State studying psychology with hopes to learn more about research and gain more experience in the field. My interests are in developmental psychology, specifically children, however I thought taking part in a study for older adults would still be just as interesting.

Technology and the Cognitive Health of Older Adults- A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background: Population aging and age-related cognitive declines present unprecedented challenges for the United States and the world. Social, cognitive, and activity engagement has the potential to protect against cognitive declines in middle-aged and older adults. Information communication technologies (ICT) can provide opportunities for all those engagements. Numerous cross-sectional and longitudinal studies suggest that ICT use in late adulthood is associated with cognitive benefits, while experimental studies providing ICTs and ICT trainings to older non-users showed mixed results. The current study aims to: (1) quantify the associations between ICT use and baseline cognition in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, (2) quantify the protective effects of ICT use on cognitive changes in longitudinal studies, and (3) examine whether introducing ICTs to older non-users has cognitive benefits.
Methods: The present meta-analysis explores the relationship between ICTs, and the cognitive abilities of healthy middle-aged and older adults. An algorithm featuring key terms was utilized to recruit relevant studies through scientific databases. We examined applicable studies for quantitative associations of ICT utilization and present cognitive abilities in relevant populations. As well as potential defensive impacts , and quantitative impacts on cognitive abilities with introduction to ICTs when lacking utilization.

Results: Current data is in the process of extraction across multiple studies, relevant to the dynamic between ICTs and cognition in older populations.
Conclusion: Given the present meta-analysis, it is evident that the relationship between cognition and ICTs involves multiple functions of technology. These functions have the potential to be narrowed down in future research.

Keywords: computer, technology, cognitive function, older adult