Staying sharp: Study explores how brain changes may affect financial skills

A new paper from Binghamton University Associate Professor of Psychology Ian M. McDonough sheds light on how age-related changes may affect the way we handle finances -- and how we can stay sharp as we age. "Separating neurocognitive mechanisms of maintenance and compensation to support financial ability in middle-aged and older adults: The role of language and the inferior frontal gyrus," co-authored by Macarena Suárez-Pellicioni of the University of Alabama, was recently published in the Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics.

The study focused on cognitively healthy adults ages 50 to 74, using MRI scans to measure brain structure and functional connectivity; study participants also engaged in simple financial tasks, such as balancing a checkbook or making change.

Financial tasks rely on multiple cognitive domains, including memory, executive functioning and numerical ability; aging can prompt subtle decline in all of these areas.

Earlier research that dealt with financial management and Alzheimer's-related brain decline focused on the parietal cortex, the part of the brain involved in attention and simulating possible future outcomes, McDonough said. Little attention has been paid to the brain regions connected specifically with math processing, outside of the development of these regions in children.

Mathematics involves two different brain regions. One is the inferior frontal gyrus, which specifically deals with accessing math information contained in your memory.

"If I ask, 'What's 3 plus 3?' you know it's six; you don't have to count 3 plus 3," McDonough explained. "You have memorized this because of rote learning and years and years of it being embedded in you."

If you don't have a readily memorized answer and need to perform calculations, then your middle frontal gyrus kicks in. It uses more brainpower than memory and increases the possibility of error.

"When people are doing the calculation, they're more likely to get it wrong. If you've memorized it, you've memorized the right answer," McDonough said. "You're faster, more efficient and more accurate when you have those verbal representations."

The brain's prefrontal cortex shrinks as a part of normal aging; with Alzheimer's disease, the frontal cortex regions shrink even faster. As a result, individuals may start making more mistakes with financial tasks since their brains no longer rely on memorized answers and are instead recruiting different regions to compensate for deficiencies.

"They are potential markers that could show people's increased vulnerability to scams," he said. "If we understand how the brain changes, this can inform interventions used to target these brain regions."

Preserving independence

Ultimately, successful financial management may rely more on language processing than sheer calculation. Individuals with better language skills were more likely to excel in financial tasks, the researchers found, likely because of increased connectivity between different parts of the brain.

McDonough's research shows that higher household income and financial literacy -- both markers of socioeconomic status -- were the two main factors protecting against age-related declines in financial ability. Relying on memory requires that memories be developed in the first place, which is more likely in an environment where financial literacy is promoted.

Financial education may help people retain sharp decision-making abilities on the money front. Maintaining verbal automatic representations for math -- essentially, practicing the math skills you learned in school -- may be helpful in supporting good financial management throughout life.

Individuals and caregivers alike, however, also need to keep an eye out for cognitive declines that can make older adults more susceptible to financial scams and abuse. Financial tools, technologies and legal safeguards, such as power of attorney for automatic payment systems, can protect older adults while preserving their autonomy in decision-making.

"Managing finances is so important to maintaining independence later in life," McDonough said. "We need to have interventions that can strengthen the brain and help keep people healthy when managing their finances."