I am extremely positive about my future and I have zero signs of cognitive decline, nor will I.
Summary: New research suggests that the tendency of
older adults to misinterpret neutral or negative emotions as positive
may be a warning sign of cognitive decline. In a study of 665
participants, positivity bias was associated with poorer cognitive
performance but not with emotional decline such as depression.
Brain
imaging revealed structural and communication changes in regions tied
to emotion and social decision-making. These findings suggest positivity
bias could serve as a subtle, early marker for neurodegeneration and
dementia.
Key Facts
- Positivity Bias: Older adults often mislabel neutral or negative emotions as positive.
- Cognitive Link: This bias was tied to poorer cognitive scores, not depressive symptoms.
- Brain Changes: Structural and functional alterations in emotion-related regions were observed.
Source: SfN
As
people age, they display a bias in recognizing emotions as positive—to
the point of improperly labeling neutral or negative emotions as
positive.
Some researchers theorize this bias is an
adaptive mechanism to support mental and emotional wellness, but new
evidence suggests it may be a sign of cognitive decline.
In a new Journal of Neuroscience paper,
Noham Wolpe, from Tel Aviv University, and colleagues, from the
University of Cambridge, advance understanding on what this positive
emotion bias that elders exhibit signifies about their brains’ health.
A
large pool of participants (665) viewed faces in an emotion recognition
task. Age-related positivity bias correlated with poorer cognitive
performance in two assessments, but not necessarily emotional decline as
measured by examining nonclinical depressive symptoms.
The
researchers also observed structural changes in brain areas associated
with emotional processing and changes in how these areas communicate to
another brain region involved in social decisions.
Thus,
positivity bias from aging impacts the brain in observable ways that
could be leveraged clinically to detect early rising signs of
age-related neurodegeneration and cognitive decline.
Says
Wolpe of the group’s next steps, “We are exploring how these findings
relate to older adults with early cognitive decline, particularly those
showing signs of apathy, which is often another early sign of
dementia.”
About this aging and cognitive decline research news
Author: SfN Media
Source: SfN
Contact: SfN Media – SfN
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access.
“Age-Related
Positivity Bias in Emotion Recognition is Linked to Lower Cognitive
Performance and Altered Amygdala–Orbitofrontal Connectivity” by Noham Wolpe et al. Journal of Neuroscience
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