ACTIVITY INTERESTS AND TALENTS IN RELATION TO COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY

摘要

Past research shows lifespan activity engagement provides multiple benefits to physical, emotional and cognitive health into late life. We investigated the prospective relationships between self-reported activity interests and talents with cognitive performance in a subset of participants taking part in the ongoing Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development and cognitive aging (CATSLife). Initial analyses evaluated associations of interest/talents, and cognitive performance beginning in late adolescence and approaching midlife (16 to 36 years; N = 852). Individuals rated 20 activities as to interests and talents (1=not at all to 5=very much). Activity types were classified into artistic (writing, music, visual arts), physical (team sports, swimming, skiing), or practical (cooking, carpentry, mechanics), and were correlated across assessments (r’s = .230 - .767). Cognitive performance was assessed from a battery of 14 tasks spanning verbal, spatial, memory and speed domains. Interests and/or talents in arts were positively correlated with better immediate and delayed performance on the Names and Faces Memory Task at years 16, 21, and 30 (r’s = .091 - .232). Interests and/or talents in physical and practical activities correlated with performance on the Card Rotations spatial task across assessments (r’s = .123 - .204), and practical activities with the Paper Form Board spatial task (r’s =.109-.274). These initial findings hint at possible influences, or environmental selection, of activity engagement and maintenance of memory and spatial abilities. We will extend analyses to the full CATSLife sample, consider activity and cognitive performance trajectories in tandem, and compare findings to the international literature.