Abstract: The study tried to examine the cognitive plasticity and stability in processingsubsystems of image--rotation. Two experiment were conducted to test processinglevels of imagerotation in twenty pilots, ten elderly adults and their own controlsrespectively. The results indicated that among three main subsystems involved inimage--rotation, there were both a stronger practice effect and age effect that thecormsponding function was either improved with systematic training or decreased withaging in the shift subsystem of image--rotation. In contrast there were little effect ofpractice and age on the function of subsystems concerning shape--encoding andconfirmation in image--rotation. The study suggested that influenced by some hereditaryand intrinsic attributes of the brain's nervous anatomic structure, the shift subsystemshowed a higher cognitive Plasticity and susceptibility, while the property of the othertWo subsystems, however, relatively showed a cognitive stability of lower Plashcity.The implication was further discussed from the high--level visual processing theorydeveloped by Kosslyn.

Key words: image--rotation, processing subsystem, practice effect, age effect, plasticity