cognitive function

Meanings

1. 1noununcountabletechnical

   The overall ability of the brain to think, remember, pay attention, learn and make decisions.

   Grammar: Used without an in general: cognitive function declines with age.

   Patterns

   • cognitive function in someone
   • improve cognitive function

   Regular exercise may help protect cognitive function in later life.

   Doctors tested her cognitive function after the head injury.

   Lack of sleep can reduce cognitive function and slow reaction times.

2. 2nounusually pluraltechnical

   A specific mental process, such as memory, language, reasoning or attention, that the brain carries out.

   Grammar: Usually plural when naming skills: memory is one of the cognitive functions.

   Patterns

   • higher cognitive functions
   • a cognitive function such as memory

   Language and planning are higher cognitive functions that develop through childhood.

   The study looked at several cognitive functions, including attention and memory.

   Each cognitive function relies on different parts of the brain.

Word forms

Common combinations

improve cognitive function

Learning a language may improve cognitive function.

decline in cognitive function

The study measured a decline in cognitive function.

impaired cognitive function

Alcohol can lead to impaired cognitive function.

cognitive function test

She took a cognitive function test at the clinic.

support cognitive function

A balanced diet supports cognitive function.

Synonyms and how they differ

mental ability

Mental ability is the plain everyday phrase, while cognitive function sounds scientific and clinical.

brain function

Brain function covers all activity of the brain, including movement and breathing, whereas cognitive function covers thinking skills only.

cognition

Cognition is the more abstract word for the process of knowing and thinking, while cognitive function stresses how well it performs.

intellect

Intellect suggests intelligence and reasoning power, not a measurable health-related ability.

Opposites

Word family

cognition noun

the mental process of knowing and thinking

cognitive adjective

relating to thinking and understanding

cognitively adverb

in a way that relates to thinking

cognizant adjective

aware of something

Commonly confused: cognitive function or cognitive?

Practice

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