The Aging Mind offers an accessible introduction to what research has revealed about how our bodies and brains age, and how these changes affect our everyday experiences and lives. This second edition is fully updated with contemporary studies and neuroscientific findings, to offer an engaging exploration of 25 facets of the physical and mental aging processes.
Written by eminent gerontologist Patrick Rabbitt, who interprets research through his own personal daily experiences, it explores what aging really is and how to accept and manage it. It explores why our sensory and cognitive experiences change as we get older, and what these developments mean for our overall physical and emotional well-being. Key topics explored include memory, intelligence, attention, sleep, vision and hearing, taste and smell, touch and balance, anxiety, depression and perception of the passage of time. It also discusses how far we can keep and develop the skills we have mastered over our lifetimes.
The Aging Mind debunks unhelpful myths about the aging process and offers guidance on how we can age better, allowing us to continue to manage and enjoy our lives. This second edition is invaluable for students and researchers of cognitive gerontology, for professionals working with clients experiencing issues around aging, and for all those interested in understanding their own, or their relatives’ aging.
Chapter 1 Talking About Old Age
Part I What is Aging?
Chapter 2 Why and How Do We Age?
Chapter 3 How Fast Do We Change?
Chapter 4 How Well do We Understand What is Happening to Us?
Chapter 5 Biological Signs of Brain Aging
Part II Memory
Chapter 6 What is Memory For?
Chapter 7 Remembering and Planning to Do Things
Chapter 8 Who Said That?
Chapter 9 Losing and Finding Words and Names
Chapter 10 Remembering the Beginnings of Our Lives
Chapter 11 Remembering the Rest of Our Lives
Part III Senses
Chapter 12 Seeing
Chapter 13 Hearing
Chapter 14 Taste and Smell
Chapter 15 Fumbling and Stumbling
Part IV Intelligence, Skills and Wisdom
Chapter 16 General Smarts
Chapter 17 Keeping the Skills We Have Learned
Chapter 18 Reading Others’ Minds
Part V Living with Aging
Chapter 19 Those Old Blues: Depression and Anxiety
Chapter 20 The Speed of Thought
Chapter 21 Paying Attention
Chapter 22 Good Times and Bad Times
Chapter 23 Sleep
Chapter 24 Time Passing
Part VI Aging Well
Chapter 25 What Can We Do About All This?
Biography
Patrick Rabbitt worked for the University of Oxford as a lecturer in psychology (1968-1982); the University of Durham as Professor of Psychology and head of department in (1982-1983); and the University of Manchester, in the Research Chair in Gerontology and Cognitive Psychology and Director of the Age and Cognitive Performance Research Centre (1983-2004). He is currently Associated Researcher at the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford.
