does iq lower with age

Introduction

The relationship between age and IQ has been a subject of extensive research. Various studies have explored how cognitive abilities, including IQ, change as individuals age, and the factors that influence these changes. This synthesis aims to present the key insights from multiple research papers on whether IQ decreases with age.

Key Insights

Stability of IQ with Age:
- IQ tends to remain stable into adulthood, with heritability reaching an asymptote at about 0.80 by the age of 18-20 and continuing at that level well into adulthood.
- In individuals with Williams syndrome, overall IQ remains stable with age, although Performance IQ may increase.
Impact of Early-Life IQ on Later Cognitive Ability:
- Higher IQ in youth is a strong predictor of cognitive ability in later life, even after accounting for early-life IQ and other factors .
- Early-life IQ is associated with better mental and physical health outcomes in later life, suggesting that higher childhood IQ can buffer against cognitive decline .
Cognitive Decline and Brain Health:
- Accumulating white matter damage with aging (WMH) is associated with lower cognitive ability in later life, even after accounting for early-life IQ.
- Aging is associated with increased variability in cognitive task performance, but the average accuracy of timing tasks remains stable.
Effects of Aging on Specific Cognitive Functions:
- Aging affects specific cognitive functions differently. For example, associative recognition and cued recall show significant declines, while item recognition shows smaller declines.
- Performance in two-choice tasks declines with age, but the decline is not significantly different between individuals with low and high IQ.
IQ and Mortality:
- Higher IQ in early life is associated with lower mortality risk in middle to late adulthood, indicating that cognitive function in youth has long-term health implications.

Conclusion

The research indicates that while certain cognitive functions may decline with age, overall IQ tends to remain relatively stable into adulthood. Early-life IQ plays a significant role in predicting cognitive ability and health outcomes in later life. Factors such as brain health and specific cognitive tasks show varying degrees of decline, but the general trend suggests that IQ does not significantly lower with age.

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Does iq lower with age

Summary

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

The Wilson Effect: The Increase in Heritability of IQ With Age

The heritability of IQ increases with age, reaching an asymptote of 0.80 at 18-20 years of age and continuing at that level well into adulthood, while shared environmental influence decreases across age.

Brain white matter damage in aging and cognitive ability in youth and older age☆

Having more cerebral white matter hyperintensities is significantly associated with lower cognitive ability in older age, with early-life IQ also influencing this relationship.

Intelligence in youth and mental health at age 50

Higher intelligence in youth is associated with reduced self-reported mental health problems at age 50, but an increased risk of depression by the age of 50.

Individual differences, aging, and IQ in two-choice tasks

Aging and IQ have larger effects on slower responses than faster responses in two-choice tasks, with IQ having a greater impact on the quality of evidence used for decisions.

Premorbid (early life) IQ and later mortality risk: systematic review.

Higher IQ in the first two decades of life is associated with lower rates of total mortality in middle to late adulthood.

The relationship between age and IQ in adults with Williams syndrome.

Adults with Williams syndrome show a stable overall IQ, but Performance IQ increases with age, suggesting that overall IQ may remain stable.

Age and IQ effects on stimulus and response timing

Increased age and decreasing IQ tend to increase variability in judgments of duration, but overall accuracy in timing tasks remains generally consistent across groups.

Psychological and physical health at age 70 in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936: links with early life IQ, SES, and current cognitive function and neighborhood environment.

High early-life IQ at age 11 can buffer the effects of adverse environments on physical and mental health problems in old age.

The impact of childhood intelligence on later life: following up the Scottish mental surveys of 1932 and 1947.

Childhood intelligence has a significant impact on survival and health in old age, with stable IQ scores from age 11 to 80, sex differences in cognitive aging, and a dedifferentiation hypothesis of cognitive aging.

Effects of aging and IQ on item and associative memory.

Aging and IQ have complex interactions on item and associative memory, with IQ affecting drift rate and recall performance, while age has small effects on boundary separation and nondecision time.

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