Psychological research in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) is an ongoing multidisciplinary study of biomedical and psychosocial aging. Over 1000 men and women are currently active, returning to the Gerontology Research Center every 2 years for a 2.5-day visit. Longitudinal studies of cognitive functioning have shown a variety of patterns of age changes in vigilance, problem solving, divergent thinking abilities, and visual memory. Studies of personality traits have shown stability in both mean levels and individual differences. Future BLSA research will add neuroimaging studies to link personality and cognition to the structure and function of the aging brain.