Speed of information processing, health, and cognitive performance in older adults

We tested the hypothesis that reduction in information processing speed could serve as the primary factor underlying age‐related cognitive changes in a group of 55‐to 77‐year‐old adults. Information processing speed was measured using the P300 latency of auditory evoked potentials. Cognitive performance was measured using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the Benton Facial Recognition Test (BFRT), which were chosen on the basis of their demonstrated relationship to frontal versus more posterior neural systems, respectively. P300 latency made a significant contribution to the prediction of complex‐pattern‐matching ability (BFRT), but it did not contribute any unique variance to the prediction of cognitive flexibility (WCST). On the other hand, estimates of cardiovascular health accounted for 28% of unique variance in the WCST, but virtually no unique variance on the BFRT. These data are incompatible with a single‐factor model of age‐related cognitive decline.