What Are the Various Cognitive Functions?

Cognitive function comes up in conversation all the time, yet ask people to define it and most of them stall. That matters, because these abilities shape how well you handle work, friendships, and the ordinary decisions that fill a day. The clearer your picture of what they are and how they operate, the easier it becomes to strengthen them. Different sources slice the topic up in different ways, but five core functions are worth knowing, and you can begin sharpening them now.

Start with attention. Nothing new gets learned without it. Remember a class where your mind kept sliding off whatever the teacher was explaining? Whatever came out of that lecture, almost none of it stuck, because you were never actually tracking the words. A healthy mind tends to hold attention long enough to absorb new material, and that steady focus is what lets you keep adding to what you know.

Then there is secondary memory, which is another name for the long-term kind. These are the things you have stored away for years, sometimes decades, and can pull back the moment something nudges them loose. Spot an old rotary phone and you might suddenly picture the exact one your grandmother kept on her kitchen wall. You are not calling these memories up daily, but they stay put, ready when a cue arrives.

Working memory is the day-to-day machinery. It covers the store hours you half-remember, the phone number you reach for, all the small pieces of information you lean on to get things done. You pull them out without any ceremony. The number is simply there, so you lift the phone and dial without first sitting down to concentrate on recalling it.

Executive function runs more or less on its own. You do not steer it directly; it coordinates your actions and reactions so you are not forced to deliberate over every one. Picture something dropping toward you from above. You step aside before any thought about stepping aside has formed. A threat registered, executive function fired, and your body moved you clear.

Cognitive performance is the broader measure, the overall strength of all these functions working together, and it responds to effort. A physician can assess yours, which gives you a baseline to work from. Once you know whether any deficits are present, you can start addressing them before they begin to intrude on other parts of your life.

With the pieces laid out, the practical question is how to improve the whole. Almost anyone has room to gain here, and the good news is that the methods are not complicated. Choose a handful, fold them into your daily routine, and let them build. People commonly reach for things like drinking a bit more coffee, getting outside for some sunlight, a small glass of wine, talking to yourself, letting the mind drift for a while, eating the right foods, dancing, moving your body with regular exercise, a round of Tetris, or fasting between meals.

Keeping cognition strong and healthy is worth the attention, since it feeds into nearly everything you try to do well. If you are putting in the work and still struggling in this area, bring it to your doctor. Certain medical conditions show up partly as cognitive trouble, and treating the underlying problem can help bring those abilities back.

Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3885/

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