Employing Verbal Divergent Thinking to Mitigate Cognitive Decline: Current State of Research and Reasons to Support Its Use.

Background/objectives: Divergent thinking (DT), the ability to generate alternative responses to open-ended problems, has become an increasingly relevant topic in aging research due to its inverse relationship with cognitive decline.

Methods: In this narrative review, we explore the latest evidence supporting DT training as a potential strategy for dementia prevention.

Results: We identify two pathways through which DT may protect against cognitive decline: (1) by fostering creative cognition and (2) by stimulating DT-related domains. Our findings suggest that verbal DT remains relatively well preserved in older adults, although there is limited empirical evidence to support the idea that DT training enhances creative cognition or DT-related domains in this population.

Conclusions: Therefore, while tools designed to enhance DT in older individuals seem promising, it is crucial to rigorously test their effects on the target population to maximize their impact on both the cognitive and psychological domains.