ReviewGeroScience2026
The protective role of companion animal ownership in cognitive aging: current status of the literature.
Review in GeroScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cognitive aging reflects underlying biological aging processes and is a key driver of late-life functional outcomes. Emerging evidence indicates that cohabitation with companion animals may influence multiple systemic pathways involved in cognitive aging, yet this potentially modifiable lifestyle factor remains underrecognized. The present narrative review synthesizes current evidence on how companion animals may influence cognitive aging through multilevel pathways, including both direct biological mechanisms and proximal psychosocial mediators. The reviewed literature suggests that companion animal ownership may counteract cognitive decline through several primary biological pathways, including stress regulation and neuroendocrine buffering, cerebrovascular and metabolic health, neuroplasticity and neuroimmune modulation, and neurovascular aging and vascular cognitive impairment processes. In parallel, companion animals may exert their effects through psychosocial pathways that ultimately operate via biological systems and indirectly affect cognitive aging through intrapersonal emotion regulation, interpersonal social facilitation, behavioral activation, and cognitive stimulation. We further identify possible key moderating factors shaping these associations, including gender, attachment strength, type and number of animals, cultural context, and the presence versus absence of a companion animal. Finally, we provide a concise overview of methodological approaches for assessing cognitive aging within the context of companion animal research. Overall, this perspective highlights possible cognitive benefits that can be associated with companion animal ownership which may arise from a dynamic interplay of biological, psychological, and social processes differentially modulated by individual, relational, and contextual factors.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41770509What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.