The Senior Odyssey: A Lab-to-Life Translation

描述(由申请人提供)： 认知老化的投入假说表明，与年龄相关的智力功能下降可能在一定程度上被以社交和智力投入为标志的生活方式所缓冲。然而，这一观点的证据主要是基于相关性数据，这些数据可能会有其他解释，这使得人们不清楚参与是否会增强认知功能--或者更有智力能力的人是否更容易参与。有选择地训练认知和智力能力的培训研究，被发现对其他能力的迁移很少。我们在这个项目中的目标是收集关于智力和社会参与计划的效果的试点数据，包括在社会/合作背景下创造性地解决问题。高级奥德赛项目是与NIA资助的罗伊巴尔健康心灵中心共同开发的，是以20多年前为儿童和年轻人开发的心灵奥德赛项目为蓝本的。在这个项目中，参与者以团队的形式为“长期”问题开发解决方案，这些问题需要在创意产品的生成过程中进行思考和协商规划(例如，建造一个木结构来承载一定的重量，或者建造一辆车来实现特定的运输目标，或者编写和表演一个剧本来说明某一点)，以及练习“自发”的问题，这些问题需要在社会互动的背景下流畅、灵活和原创性。高级志愿者将被随机分配参加高级奥德赛计划或选择性认知训练(即速度训练或记忆训练)。需要检验的假设是，在丰富的社会互动和创造性工作目标的背景下，练习基本的认知技能(例如，速度、记忆力、流畅性、执行功能)将广泛增强认知功能，并提高正念、感知控制和生活满意度。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The engagement hypothesis of cognitive aging suggests that age-related declines in intellectual functioning may to some extent be buffered by a lifestyle marked by social and intellectual engagement. Evidence for this idea, however, is primarily based on correlation data, which is subject to other interpretations, making it unclear whether engagement enhances cognitive function - or whether more intellectually capable individuals are prone to engagement. Training studies, in which cognitive and intellectual abilities are selectively trained, have been found to produce very little transfer to other abilities. Our goal in this project is to collect pilot data on the effects of a program of intellectual and social engagement, involving creative problem solving in a social/collaborative context. The Senior Odyssey project, developed in conjunction with the NIA-funded Roybal Center for Healthy Minds, is modeled on the Odyssey of the Mind program, developed for children and young adults over 20 years ago. In this program, participants work in teams to develop solutions to "long-term" problems that require reflection and negotiated planning in the generation of a creative product (e.g., building a wood structure to hold a certain amount of weight or a vehicle to achieve a given transportation goal, or write and perform a play to illustrate a certain point), as well as to practice "spontaneous" problems, which require fluency, flexibility, and originality in the context of social interaction. Senior volunteers will be randomly assigned to participate in the Senior Odyssey program or to selective cognitive training (i.e., speed training or memory training). The hypothesis to be tested is that the practice of basic cognitive skills (e.g., speed, memory, fluency, executive function) situated in the rich context of social interaction and goals for creative work will broadly enhance cognitive function as well as increase mindfulness, perceived control, and life satisfaction.