Mental Wellbeing across the Lifespan

1. R L R L R L R L R L R L Mental Wellbeing across the Lifespan Cognitive Functioning Emotional Functioning • Fluid cognitive abilities, such as paying attention or recalling names, tend to decline in later life. • Crystallised stores of knowledge, experience and wisdom can be maintained or increased in later life. • There is evidence that older adults experience negative emotions such as sadness and worthlessness less frequently than younger adults. ‘Crystallised’ knowledge Performance Negative Emotions Experienced ‘Fluid’ processing Childhood Maturity Old Age Age 25 Age 45 Age 65 Figure adapted from Craik , F.I.M., and Bialystok, E. (2006).Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 10, 131-8. Figure adapted from Mroczek , D.K., and Kolark , C.M. (1998). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 1333-49. Assessing Brain Changes • Brain scans can reveal differences in brain structure and function that relate to mental wellbeing. • Brain images can be compared to a standard rating scale (Scheltens et al, 1992) to determine how healthy the brain is. Healthy older adult Adult with Alzheimer’s disease Images showing progressive shrinkage of the brain and enlargement of the fluid filled spaces. The LiveWell programme is funded by the Lifelong Health and Wellbeing programme, which is a Cross-Research Councils initiative in partnership with the UK Health Departments.