Stress and cognitive changes associated with the aging.

Abstract

Many countries all around the world are experiencing an accelerated aging of their population. This has important personal, social and economical implications that make it necessary to investigate the aging process in  order to improve the quality of life of the elderly. There is evidence of the  existence of different types of aging, that are associated with genetic and biological factors, but also with factors related to social environment and lifestyle that together can promote the development of a healthy or,  conversely, pathological aging. The Mneme PROJECT has the main aim of studying stress as a major determinant of individual differences  associated with aging. In the last years, we have studied the effects of  stress, at a psychological, behavioural and physiological level, on cognitive function of elderly people. We have found that sex and other personal  features are critical to understand the relationship between stress and  cognitive changes across time. Additionally, the impact of stress on  memory processes depends on the type of memory assessed and the phase of the memory process that is being tested (acquisition, consolidation or retrieval).