Research from the Center for Vital Longevity (CVL) at The University of Texas at Dallas has shed new light on which cognitive processes tend to be preserved with age and which ones decline.

Results from a study recently published in NeuroImage confirm behavioral findings that verbal ability—the accurate memory of words and vocabulary—remains intact during a lifetime while reasoning ability decreases in older adults.

In the study, participants— 316 individuals ages 20 to 89—made simple and difficult judgments about word meaning to test their cognitive abilities as scientists measured their brain responses with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). For difficult judgments, the brain regions that were activated and declined with age included those that are usually rich in a neurotransmitter substance called dopamine…