Rethinking why "Cognitive dysfunction" predicts some, but not all, transdiagnostic symptom dimensions in older adults: Commentary on Hoy et al. (2026).

Abstract

Hoy et al. (2026) wrote a brilliant article on the potential association between cognitive dysfunction and psychopathology in aging, characterized by the general p construct and spectra such as internalizing, thought disorders, and externalizing. This commentary proposes that cognitive dysfunction may lack specificity when investigating cognition in aging. I suggest that future research should further decompose cognitive dysfunction into subdomains, one of which is cognitive control processes, as they depend on frontal-related networks, which are among the first to decline with age. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).