Aging and emotion – Affect and Learning Science Lab

Cheerful grandfather The importance of education is not limited to children. Given the increased life expectancy, lifelong learning for older adults has become more important than ever. When we think about old age, we tend to focus on negative aspects of aging (e.g., loss of physical health, cognitive abilities, and social connection). But increasing research has pointed to the adaptive effects of aging. For example, while younger adults remember more negative than positive information, older adults tend to pay attention to and remember more positive information because they focus on emotional goals. Enriched knowledge and experience with age may also help older adults’ learning to experience enjoyment and pleasure while learning even more than children and younger adults. We aim to understand these diverse effects of aging on processes relevant to learning—from the brain to emotional wellbeing.

Relevant Papers

Sakaki, M., Yagi, A., & Murayama, K. (2018). Curiosity in old age: A possible key to achieving adaptive aging. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 88, 106-116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.03.007 Request PDF Article

Yagi A., FitzGibbon L., Murayama, K., Shinomori K., & Sakaki M. (2023). Uncertainty drives exploration of negative information across younger and older adults. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 23, 809-826. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-023-01082-8 OSF Link Request PDF Article

Tupitsa, E., Egbuniwe, I., Lloyd, W. K., Puertollano, M., Macdonald, B., Joanknecht, K., Sakaki, M., & van Reekum, C. M. (2023). Heart rate variability covaries with amygdala functional connectivity during voluntary emotion regulation. NeuroImage, 274, 120136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120136 Request PDF Article

Fastrich, G. M., FitzGibbon, L., Lau, J. K., Aslan, S., Sakaki, M., & Murayama. K. (2024). Adult age differences in non-instrumental information seeking strategies. Psychology & Aging, 39(3), 313–323. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000806 OSF Link Request PDF Article