AGE, GENDER, AND APOE4 RELATED DIFFERENCES IN SPONTANEOUS COGNITION: AN ADAPTED THINK ALOUD PARADIGM

Abstract

It is of utmost importance to understand the cognitive differences between healthy and unhealthy aging in humans as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) quickly becomes a devastatingly common reality for rapidly aging populations worldwide. To understand these changes, this study compared the spontaneous thoughts of two cohorts – one consisting of younger adults, and one consisting of older adults – as both cohorts spoke aloud anything that came to mind for a ten-minute period. This study explores differences between key constructs of positive valence, negative valence, and internal/external focus expressed in spontaneous thought to help inform our understanding of the aging process. These analyses of spontaneous thoughts were examined in combination with gender and AD-risk factors beyond age, including genetic markers and mental health questionnaires. The results found slightly diverged from our hypotheses, but overall there was still support for many of the concepts we expected to see. The genetic risk factor results showed an interesting trend for young adults where their status affected their level of negativity. We hope this study can serve to build more of a foundation for aging research and encourage more research in this area due to its impact.