don’t-hold functions
cognitive abilities, such as those involved in digit–symbol association (see Digit Symbol), that often decline in normative aging as observed on intellectual or cognitive tests (e.g., the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale). They also show declines in conditions that affect cognitive functioning, such as traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, or dementia. In these conditions, don’t-hold functions are much more likely to be affected, or to be affected first, than are hold functions, which often rely on long-term knowledge such as vocabulary.