Language skills in an aging brain: review of empirical studies in cognitively healthy older adults of third and fourth age

Abstract

An aging brain exhibits significant changes in language processing, with good performance in certain areas and deficits in others. However, the multiple levels involved and cognitive and age heterogeneity in aging make the limits of these deficits still vague. A better knowledge would help to measure the real magnitude of these changes and to discriminate normative variations from those that do not. The pur­pose of the article is to provide advanced information on language decline during third and fourth age by reviewing the empirical studies. As a result, deficits are observed in word recognition, comprehen­sion and production of complex clauses, lexical retrieval, and discourse, changes that progress during third and fourth age; but that do not appear to alter functional communication. However, to unders­tand this phenomenon globally, is necessary to consider other aspects, such as the use of compensatory strategies responsible for maintaining the communicative potential in an aging brain.