From language to motor control, efficient integration of information from different sensory modalities is necessary for maintaining a coherent interaction with the environment. While a number of training studies have focused on training perceptual and cognitive function, only very few are specifically targeted at improving multisensory processing. Discrimination of temporal order or coincidence is a criterion used by the brain to determine whether cross-modal stimuli should be integrated or not. In this study we trained older adults to judge the temporal order of visual and auditory stimuli. We then tested whether the training had an effect in reducing susceptibility to a multisensory illusion, the sound induced flash illusion. Improvement in the temporal order judgement task was associated with a reduction in susceptibility to the illusion, particularly at longer Stimulus Onset Asynchronies, in line with a more efficient multisensory processing profile. The present findings set the ground for more broad training programs aimed at improving older adults׳ cognitive performance in domains in which efficient temporal integration across the senses is required.

The lived environment is the arena where our cognitive skills, preferences and attitudes come together to determine our ability to interact with the world. The mechanisms through which lived environments can benefit cognitive health in older age are yet to be fully understood. The existing literature suggests that environments which are perceived as stimulating, usable and aesthetically appealing can improve or facilitate cognitive performance both in young and older age. Importantly, optimal stimulation for cognition seems to depend on experiencing sufficiently stimulating environments while not too challenging. Environmental complexity is an important contributor to determining whether an environment provides such an optimal stimulation. The present paper reviews a selection of studies which have explored complexity in relation to perceptual load, environmental preference and perceived usability to propose a framework which explores direct and indirect environmental influences on cognition, and to understand these influences in relation to aging processes. We identify ways to define complexity at different environmental scales, going from micro low-level perceptual features of scenes, to design qualities of proximal environments (e.g.: streets, neighborhoods), to broad geographical areas (i.e.: natural vs. urban environments). We propose that studying complexity at these different scales will provide new insight into the design of cognitive-friendly environments.