Cognition and Aging

Much of the research in the Adult Development Lab is focused on healthy aging. Beginning in 2002, an interdisciplinary team of scientists launched the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study to take a closer look at the root causes of longevity and healthy aging. Dr. Cherry’s work has focused on the contribution of cognition to healthy aging. Current research suggests that social support impacts health, working memory measures are better able to pick up on aging changes than short term memory tests, and that pictures are recalled more easily than words in adults ranging in age from 60 to over 90 years.

Cherry, K. E., Lyon, B. A., Boudreaux, E. O., Barker, A. A., Hicks, J. L., Elliott, E. M., Kim, S., & Jazwinski, S. M. (2019). Memory self-efficacy and beliefs about memory and aging in very old adults in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS). Experimental Aging Research. Advance Online Publication.

Cherry, K. E., Silva Brown, J., Jackson Walker, E., Smitherman, E. A., Boudreaux, E. O., Volaufova, J., & Jazwinski, S.M. (2012). Semantic encoding enhances the pictorial superiority effect in the oldest-old. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 19, 319-337.

Cherry, K. E., Jackson Walker, E., Silva Brown, J., Volaufova, J., LaMotte, L. R., Welsh, D. A., Su, L. J. Jazwinski, S. M., Ellis, R., Wood, R. H. & Frisard, M. I. (2011). Social engagement and health in younger, older, and oldest-old adults in the Louisiana healthy aging study. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 32(1), 51-75.

Elliott, E.M., Cherry, K. E., Silva Brown, J., Smitherman, E. A., Jazwinski, S. M., Yu, Q. & Volaufova, J. (2011). Working memory in the oldest-old: Evidence from output serial position curves. Memory & Cognition, 39, 1423-1434. 

Cherry, K. E., Hawley, K. S., Jackson, E. M., Volaufova, J., Su, L. J. & Jazwinski, S. M. (2008). Pictorial superiority effects in oldest-old adults. Memory, 16(7), 728-741.