The Journal of Aging Research has launched a call for papers for a special issue examining lifestyle determinants of cognitive ageing. The call appears below, and on behalf of the editorial team, I invite you to consider submitting your work to this special issue. Topics of interest are not limited to those suggested below, and you are welcome to contact the guest editors to discuss any questions you might have prior to submission.
We look forward to receiving your submission,
Lead Guest Editor
Alan J. Gow, The University of Edinburgh
Guest Editors
Allison A. M. Bielak, Colorado State University
Denis Gerstorf, Humboldt University of Berlin
Call for Papers
Cognitive abilities change with age. There are individual differences in the timing and trajectory of this change, and hence discovering factors that reduce, delay, or halt cognitive ageing is a research priority. Lifestyle factors, particularly those which are malleable across the life course, may be the most informative in the development of any possible cognitive intervention. Factors of interest include aspects of social, leisure, and physical activity; personality; social networks, support and relationships; diet and nutrition; occupational characteristics and exposures; health behaviours.
Efforts to identify lifestyle factors that are associated with cognitive ageing are complicated by a number of issues. A key concern is being able to distinguish between alternative explanations for a factor's association with cognitive ability. Does the factor lead to differential preservation, that is, does it actually predict subsequent cognitive change, or is the association the result of preserved differentiation, where individuals of a given cognitive ability level are more or less likely to have taken up the lifestyle in the first instance? It is important, though not straightforward, to differentiate between these alternatives given the implications for how the results can be interpreted, and thus used. For example, although leisure-time activities have been consistently associated with cognitive abilities, it remains unclear how much of this effect remains once prior cognitive ability can be accounted for.
Other issues to be addressed in terms of identifying lifestyle predictors of cognitive ageing include the length of follow-up required to detect cognitive change and possible effects of lifestyle factors, the over-reliance on single markers of cognitive ability when this is the key outcome of interest, and whether there are different effects of lifestyle factors during distinct periods across the life course. Original research articles employing diverse methodologies and reviews which seek to examine any of these key issues, and others, are welcomed. No single study will be able to address them all, but the aim of the special issue is to stimulate discussion and further raise awareness of these issues. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
Examining multiple cognitive domains and how lifestyle factors might differentially affect these;
Examining the effects of lifestyle factors from across the life course (young adulthood and midlife) on cognitive changes across this same period or through old age;
Reports of intervention studies using the manipulation of any lifestyle factors;
Comparison of the effect sizes on cognitive ageing from different lifestyle factors;
Consideration of the differential preservation versus preserved differentiation debate and ways to address this empirically.
Full details of the Special Issue and guidelines for manuscript submission can be found by copying the link into your web browser: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jar/si/cogn/
Manuscript Due: Friday, 16 March 2012
First Round of Reviews: Friday, 8 June 2012
Publication Date: Friday, 3 August 2012
Alan J. Gow
PhD, MBPsS
Senior Research Fellow
Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 Study
Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology
Psychology
University of Edinburgh
7 George Square
Edinburgh
EH8 9JZ
Alan.Gow@ed.ac.uk
0131 651 1685
http://www.ppls.ed.ac.uk/psychology/people/alan-gow
Find out more about the Lothian Birth Cohort Studies www.lothianbirthcohort.ed.ac.uk
The LBC1936 Study is part of The Disconnected Mind, funded by Age UK. To find out more visit www.disconnectedmind.ed.ac.uk
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The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
