Cognition: Accomplishing Tasks In Everyday Life

Cognition

Accomplishing tasks in the daily life such as crossing the street or riding a bike requires the use of mental processes related to cognition, but what exactly is cognition? Back in the 15th century it referred mental attributes such as ’thinking’ and ‘awareness’. In modern day science we define cognition as the mental abilities and processes that are related to knowledge such as attention, memory, judgement and so on. In essence cognition is about the processing of stimuli, that is the sensory input from the environment, and the subsequent execution of actions based on the brains judging functions. It should be noted that cognition is not entirely conscious, which might not be entirely clear from above definition. Thought processes

This is due to the so-called plasticity of the brain; which is defined as the brain’s ability to change [?]. Brain plasticity is what allows children to quickly learn; however, as we age the brain becomes less plastic making it increasingly more difficult. As one grows older cognitive abilities also tend to decreases (e.g. memory loss, difficulties with orientation, slow movements and reaction.). These changes in cognition over a period of time or a lifetime are called cognitive aging. This process differs in extent between individuals and it is among the most feared aspects of growing old. Research on cognitive changes within the lifetime of human beings is gravely concerned with the basic processes such as learning or memory, as well as with the complex higher order processes of language and intellectual competence or executive functioning. The majority of studies in the field of cognitive aging are concerned with explaining the mechanism of cognitive decline with advancing age, and how to stimulate and improve cognitive abilities among older aged people.

It closely follows that any damage upon brain structure or functionality (illness, diseases, injuries, psychological disorders) has the potential to greatly alter cognitive capabilities for the worse. The aforementioned situations could potentially lead to more rapid cognitive decline than it would normally be the case. [5] There is however a clear distinction to be made. Rehabilitation of people who has experienced e.g. a stroke is approached very differently as opposed to re-acquisition of cognitive skills that has been lost do to aging; we would like to avoid delving into the former. One might think that decline of some of the mental functions such as verbal or numerical abilities, or general knowledge are mainly caused by aging itself, however the aging impact is insignificant on the aforementioned abilities