About this Research Topic
By 2050, approximately one in six people in the world will be over the age of 65. Increased longevity coupled with improved health and economic circumstances means that an increasing number of older adults are actively participating in society and that professionals will be working with older adults across a diverse spectrum of disciplines and professions. This demographic shift will require transformations in every sector of society to meet the possibilities of this increasing group. Finding strategies to support learning among older adults is thus a key priority - especially with the need to develop new skills and adapt to new technologies in a rapidly evolving world. Methods to bolster new learning in older age are also important for supporting lifelong learning, maximizing cognitive health and everyday functioning, and possibly mitigating against cognitive concerns and cognitive decline.
To better understand how learning can be supported in older age, studies are needed that elucidate: a) the learning challenges that older adults face and how they can be managed, b) the factors that influence learning in older age, and c) potential cognitive and neural mechanisms that underpin age-related changes in learning. The current research topic explores these themes in the context of episodic as well as instrumental learning using both behavioral and neuroimaging methods. In addition to age-related changes in cognition, this research topic also focuses on the importance of motivational factors for successful learning with age. Fundamental knowledge in these areas will inform ways to improve learning in pedagogical, clinical, and everyday settings for older individuals.
We invite submissions (i.e., original research, reviews, and methods papers) related to normal age-related changes in learning within the fields of cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, and cognitive neuroscience. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):
• Encoding
• Strategy use during learning
• Retrieval-based learning strategies (e.g., testing effects, expanded retrieval)
• Metacognition (e.g., judgments of learning, retrospective confidence judgments, cognitive offloading, subjective cognitive impairment/decline)
• Correction of learning errors (e.g., trial-and-error and errorless learning, prediction errors, model-based versus model-free learning)
• Influence of motivational factors on learning (e.g., curiosity, interest, personal relevance, rewards, willingness to invest effort)
• Learning new active skills (e.g., foreign languages, dance, painting)
• Learning of digital skills and new technologies
• Effects of stress on learning
• Acquisition of new routines
• Compensatory mechanisms arising from learning difficulties
• Neural activation patterns, connectivity, and mechanisms supporting all the aspects above
To better understand how learning can be supported in older age, studies are needed that elucidate: a) the learning challenges that older adults face and how they can be managed, b) the factors that influence learning in older age, and c) potential cognitive and neural mechanisms that underpin age-related changes in learning. The current research topic explores these themes in the context of episodic as well as instrumental learning using both behavioral and neuroimaging methods. In addition to age-related changes in cognition, this research topic also focuses on the importance of motivational factors for successful learning with age. Fundamental knowledge in these areas will inform ways to improve learning in pedagogical, clinical, and everyday settings for older individuals.
We invite submissions (i.e., original research, reviews, and methods papers) related to normal age-related changes in learning within the fields of cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, and cognitive neuroscience. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):
• Encoding
• Strategy use during learning
• Retrieval-based learning strategies (e.g., testing effects, expanded retrieval)
• Metacognition (e.g., judgments of learning, retrospective confidence judgments, cognitive offloading, subjective cognitive impairment/decline)
• Correction of learning errors (e.g., trial-and-error and errorless learning, prediction errors, model-based versus model-free learning)
• Influence of motivational factors on learning (e.g., curiosity, interest, personal relevance, rewards, willingness to invest effort)
• Learning new active skills (e.g., foreign languages, dance, painting)
• Learning of digital skills and new technologies
• Effects of stress on learning
• Acquisition of new routines
• Compensatory mechanisms arising from learning difficulties
• Neural activation patterns, connectivity, and mechanisms supporting all the aspects above
Keywords: learning, Aging, Metacognition, Cognition, Neuroimaging
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
