A small study has found that, in older adults, their sense of control fluctuates over the course of a day, and this affects their cognitive abilities.

The protein associated with Alzheimer's disease appears to impair cognitive function many years before symptoms manifest. Higher levels of this protein are more likely in carriers of the Alzheimer’s gene, and such carriers may be more affected by the protein’s presence.

Another study has come out supporting the idea that negative stereotypes about aging and memory affect how well older adults remember. In this case, older adults reminded of age-related decline were more likely to make memory errors.

A large ten-year study of middle-aged to older adults (45-70) has found that cognitive decline begins in the 45-55 decade, with reasoning ability the most affected by age.

• Comparison of the brains of octogenarians whose memories match those of middle-aged people reveals important differences between their brains and those of cognitively-normal seniors.

A very large survey of older women indicates which type of memory difficulties may signal age-related cognitive impairment possibly leading to dementia.

• Chimpanzee brains don’t shrink with age as humans’ do. It may be that cognitive impairment and even dementia are our lot because we work our brains too hard for too long.

A study has successfully countered reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex seen in older monkeys. Clinical trials are now investigating whether the drug can improve working memory in older humans.