Introduction to topiCS Volume 18, Issue 4

As we grow older, we change—not merely with respect to our physical abilities but also our cognitive capabilities. Some aspects improve, such as experience-based expertise; others decline, such as reaction time and memory functions. Less widely known is how aging affects our language. The current issue, edited by Antonio Benítez-Burraco (University of Seville, Spain) and Olga Ivanova (University of Salamanca, Spain), places these effects center stage. The eight contributions assembled here complement one another in examining both specific language phenomena (from a microlinguistic perspective) and language–cognition interactions more broadly (from a macrolinguistic perspective). They cover a range of topics from details of language production and comprehension to modality-specific patterns and cross-cultural dimensions. As pointed out by the editors in their introduction to the topic (Benítez-Burraco & Ivanova, in press), such insights on how language changes at different life stages help us not only advance our understanding of how we adapt to the cognitive challenges of aging but also open a unique window into language and cognition as such, as well as their intricate relations. Enjoy the reading! topiCS encourages letters and commentaries on all topics, as well as proposals for new topics. Letters are not longer than two published pages (ca. 400–1000 words). Commentaries (between 1000 and 2000 words) are often solicited by Topic Editors prior to the publication of their topic, but they may also be considered after publication. Letters and commentaries typically come without abstract and with few references, if any. The Executive Editor and the Senior Editorial Board (SEB) are constantly searching for new and exciting topics for topiCS. Feel free to open communications with a short note to the Executive Editor ([email protected]) or a member of the SEB (for a list, see the publisher's homepage for topiCS: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1756-8765/homepage/EditorialBoard.html).