Speaker 2: And welcome back folks.
Speaker 1: Today we're going to be talking about cognitive development across
the lifespan. So we'll be looking at information processing, how
it changes, how our attention, our memory systems, processing speed,
and executive functioning change as we get older. Theory of
mind develops through early childhood. We've talked about that several
times around the three to four age range, and it
underpins social understanding.
Speaker 2: Will also look up metacognition.
Speaker 1: Thinking about how we think, which emerges in middle childhood
and also shapes our learning strategies and academic performance intelligence.
We'll look a little bit at that genetics, environment, stability,
and change for the E triple P.
Speaker 2: Now, for what we hear out there.
Speaker 1: Clinical practice requires interpreting cognitive data based on age and ORMs,
identifying learning disorders and so forth.
Speaker 2: And cognitive development is not linear. It curves, it accelerates, it.
Speaker 1: Slows down, sometimes could even decline. So the first thing
is looking at how some people look at the brain
like a computer.
Speaker 2: So cognition from infancy.
Speaker 1: To light late life can be viewed through the information
processing model. Information processing model which likens the mind. Again,
it takes into a system that takes in stores and
manages information, so our attention is one of the facets.
Infants show orienting attention that can turn towards stimuli, but
are easily distracted. Toddlerhood, sustained attention begins improving, especially with
joint activities. In middle childhood, though selective and divided attention
become more refined. Adolescents and adults manage more complex attentional demands,
and late adulthood, divided attention and the ability to shift
focus off in decline, especially under cognitive loads.
Speaker 2: There's several studies.
Speaker 1: That have measured that memory systems, like the sensory system
stable across the lifespan doesn't change very much. Short term
and working memory, though does it increases throughout childhood, peaking
in your young adulthood, and then again declines in midlife.
Long term memory like semantic memory, very facts and knowledge
that means remains relatively stable through most of your life.
Episodic memory, though, is more vulnerable to age related declient,
so remembering events that becomes a little bit more compromise
as you get older. Procedural memory like skills remain stable,
so riding bike, writing down, just writing in general remains
stable unless impacted by disease like a Parkinson's. What about
the processing speed speeds up dramatically from infancy through adolescence
right peaks of the twenties, though, and gradually declines. Yeah,
affecting time dependentastics, mental math, and quick decisions. Slower speed
and older adults may mean not less intelligence, just longer
to reach the same answer. Executive functioning as well a
gets compromised, includes planning, inhibition, mental flexibility, and gold directed behavior.
Speaker 2: Actually, I should have said compromised.
Speaker 1: It also develops rudimentary forms begin in toddlerhood. Think about
impulse control, which is associated with executive functioning, as well
as emotional regulation, moral judgments, anticipating consequences.
Speaker 2: That's all in that pre funnel cortex.
Speaker 1: It also significantly matures during adolescens as pre funnel cortex develops, especially.
Speaker 2: The myelination and aging.
Speaker 1: Though it declines as contributes to reduce adaptability even with
basic knowledge remains intact. Executive functioning is a key target
in therapy for ADHD, TBI, and Fretolow related disorders.
Speaker 2: We'll go back again to theory of mind.
Speaker 1: We talked about every first ability to understand that others
have mental states. Thoughts desires and beliefs that differ.
Speaker 2: From our own.
Speaker 1: Develops between ages three and five, marked by understanding of
false belief, knowing that someone can hold a belief that's
different from reality. So remember the classic sally An task.
A child who understands theory of mind knows that Sally
would look where she last saw her movel, not where
it was moved without her knowledge. Theory of mind underlies empathy, deception, cooperation,
and moral reasoning, and a lot of that is located
in the pre funnel cortex, again associated with executive functioning
impairedive delay. Theory of mine as a hallmark of autism,
affecting social reciprocity and communication, and adolescens and adulthood. Theory
of mine becomes more nuanced, recognizing sarcasm, white lies, or
complex complex emotional intentions.
Speaker 2: Now going into the.
Speaker 1: World of Koldberg's moral stages. If you remember that, there
are some assessment tools that include false belief tasks and
perspective taking stories to help. Metacognition, monetary and control. Medicognition
is the awareness and regulation of one's own.
Speaker 2: Cognitive processes thinking about thinking.
Speaker 1: It emerges around EGE seven with increased soft reflection and
strategic thinking. Children under six often overestimate what they know
or remember. I know. Sometimes it sounds like the adolescens too,
but not really. By middle childhood, students begin using strategies
like rereading, summarizing, rehearsal, and self questioning. Adolescens develop deeper
metacognitive awareness, influencing motivation, study habits, and academic resilience.
Speaker 2: In adulthood.
Speaker 1: Medicognition supports judgment, problem solving, lifelong learning. Medic Cognition is
linked to academic performance and self regulated learning. Weaknesses here
often seen in learning disorders, executive function, deficits, and depression.
So rumination is as maladaptive metic cognition. So let's look
at intelligence now. So the first thing is we'll look
at structure of intelligence. Is we've got two types. We
got fluid intelligence, which is problem solving, logic, novel reasoning.
A lot of this is happening in the pre funnel cortex.
Crystallize intelligence, which is accumulated knowledge.
Speaker 2: And skills, kind of like experience, which.
Speaker 1: Often improves with age, peaking amid to late adulthood.
Speaker 2: Stability and change.
Speaker 1: IQ is relatively stable from late childhood onward, especially when
measured appropriately. Early childhood scores are less predictive due to
rapid developmental variability. Measurement considerations, standardized tests. You've heard of
a lot of these already, WPPSI for preschool, whisk WS,
WISC for children, ways WAIS for adults, Less language to
Penman is the KABC across ages. Developmental span of Stanford
and Binet. Environmental influences, intelligences shape by genetic potential and
environmental exposure. En Wrenching factors include parental education, early language exposure, nutrition,
cognitive stimulation. We see this a lot with firstborns, right,
they get a lot of early language exposure. Detracting factors poverty, trauma,
chronic stress, under resource skills. Clinical interpretation of IQ must
consider adaptive functioning, especially for diagnosis like intellectual disability. So
how do we apply this well Cognitive assessment across age
groups use developmentally appropriate tools and norms. So again, Stanford
BENE across different age groups. Be cautious with early testing
under age three focus on developmental milestone and functional behavior
for older adults include processing, spreed, working memory, language fluency
to screen for early cognitive decline.
Speaker 2: How about learning disorders?
Speaker 1: Well understand disorders like dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia, which I'll
link to specific cognitive processes. Assessments include achievement testing as
well as cognitive profiles, so phonological processing, visual motor integration,
executive dysfunction. These our learning disorders, which often complicates learning
profiles and requires individualized strategies. Another thing is designing cognitive interventions.
For children, You're going to use a lot of modeling, scaffolding,
and multisensory instruction. For adolescents, you focus on metacognitive coaching
and strategy instruction against how do you think?
Speaker 2: What do you think about thinking?
Speaker 1: And then for older adults, emphasize cognitive stimulation, routine building,
and external memory supports, neuropsychological implications post injury or understanding,
cognitive baseline support, rehab goals. Changes in processing speed, executive control,
or memory can indicate frontal lobe, parietal, or hippocampal dysfunction, respectively.
Speaker 2: So that's it for that.
Speaker 1: What we're going to go into the next time is
cultural and societal influences on human development. Hopefully i'll get
another podcast in this week. I'm going to try to
go to two to three a week again. I can
see that's really growing and I appreciate it. Keep sharing
with all your classmates and friends to help them with
the E Triple P.
Speaker 2: If you find this valuable,