scholarly journals Memory Guides the Comprehension of Event Changes for Older and Younger Adults

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher N. Wahlheim ◽  
Jeffrey M. Zacks
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Cued Recall ◽  
Final Recall ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Memory Disruption ◽  
Waking Up ◽  
Differential Deficit

AbstractTwo experiments examined adult age differences in the use of memory to comprehend changes in everyday activities. Participants viewed movies depicting an actor performing activities on two fictive days in her life. Some activities were repeated across days, other activities were repeated with a changed feature (e.g., waking up to an alarm clock or a phone alarm), and a final set of activities was performed on Day 2 only. After a one-week delay, participants completed a cued recall test for the activities of Day 2. Unsurprisingly, exact repetition boosted final recall. More surprising, features that changed from Day 1 to Day 2 were remembered approximately as well as features that were only presented on Day 2—showing an absence of proactive interference and in some cases proactive facilitation. Proactive facilitation was strongly related to participants’ ability to detect and recollect the changes. Younger adults detected and recollected more changes than older adults, which in part explained older adults’ differential deficit in memory for changed activity features. We propose that this pattern may reflect observers’ use of episodic memory to make predictions during the experience of a new activity, and that when predictions fail, this triggers processing that benefits subsequent episodic memory. Disruption of this chain of processing could play a role in age-related episodic memory deficits.

scholarly journals Adult age differences in subjective responses to dynamic socioemotional incentives

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sade J Abiodun ◽  
Galen McAllister ◽  
Gregory Russell Samanez-Larkin ◽  
Kendra Leigh Seaman
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Incentive Motivation ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Positivity Effect ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Adult Age Differences

Facial expressions are powerful communicative social signals that motivate feelings and action in the observer. However, research on incentive motivation has overwhelmingly focused on money and points and the limited research on social incentives has been mostly focused on responses in young adulthood. Previous research on the age-related positivity effect and adult age differences in social motivation suggest that older adults might experience higher levels of positive arousal to socioemotional stimuli than younger adults. Affect ratings following dynamic emotional expressions (anger, happiness, sadness) varying in magnitude of expression showed that higher magnitude expressions elicited higher arousal and valence ratings. Older adults did not differ significantly in levels of arousal when compared to younger adults, however their ratings of emotional valence were significantly higher as the magnitude of expressions increased. The findings provide novel evidence that socioemotional incentives may be relatively more reinforcing as adults age. More generally, these dynamic socioemotional stimuli that vary in magnitude are ideal for future studies of more naturalistic affect elicitation, studies of social incentive processing, and use in incentive-driven choice tasks.

Looking the same, but remembering differently: Preserved eye-movement synchrony with age during movie-watching

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Davis ◽  
Emily Chemnitz ◽  
Tyler K. Collins ◽  
Linda Geerligs ◽  
Karen L. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Cued Recall ◽  
False Information ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Movement Synchrony

Naturalistic stimuli (e.g., movies) provide the opportunity to study lifelike experiences in the lab. While young adults respond to these stimuli in a highly synchronized manner (as indexed by intersubject correlations [ISC] in their neural activity), older adults respond more idiosyncratically. Here, we examine whether eye movement synchrony (eye-ISC) also declines with age during movie-watching and whether it relates to memory for the movie. Our results show no age-related decline in eye-ISC, suggesting that age differences in neural ISC are not caused by differences in viewing patterns. Both age groups recalled the same number of episodic details from the movie, however, older adults recalled more semantic and false information. In both age groups, more recall of false information related to lower eye-ISC. Finally, older adults showed better cued-recall than younger adults across event boundaries, suggesting that older adults may form broader associations across events when encoding everyday experiences.

scholarly journals Effects of Age Differences in Memory Formation on Neural Mechanisms of Consolidation and Retrieval

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myriam C. Sander ◽  
Yana Fandakova ◽  
Markus Werkle-Bergner
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Memory Decline ◽  
Memory Processing ◽  
Memory Impairments ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Memory Network

Episodic memory decline is a hallmark of cognitive aging and a multifaceted phenomenon. We review studies that target age differences across different memory processing stages, i.e., from encoding to retrieval. The available evidence cumulates in the proposition that older adults form memories of lower quality than younger adults, which has negative downstream consequences for later processing stages. We argue that low memory quality in combination with age-related neural decline of key regions of the episodic memory network puts older adults in a double jeopardy situation that finally results in broader memory impairments in older compared to younger adults.

scholarly journals Semantic Relatedness Corrects the Age-Related Binding Deficit in Working Memory and Episodic Memory

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 1841-1849 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa M Loaiza ◽  
Sabina Srokova
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Semantic Relatedness ◽  
Item Memory ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Long Term Retention

Abstract Objectives It is well known that age differentially impacts aspects of long-term episodic memory (EM): Whereas a binding deficit indicates that older adults are less capable than younger adults to encode or retrieve associations between information (e.g., the pairing between two memoranda, such as lock – race), item memory is relatively intact (e.g., recognizing lock without its original pairing). Method We tested whether this deficit could be corrected by facilitating establishment of the bindings in working memory (WM) through adapting the semantic relatedness of studied pairs according to participants’ ongoing performance (Experiments 1 and 2). We also examined whether this was evident for the long-term retention of pairs that were not tested in WM (Experiment 2). Results The results revealed matched binding and item memory in WM and EM between age groups. Most importantly, older adults required increased semantic strength between word pairs to achieve similar performance to that of younger adults, regardless of whether pairs were immediately tested during the WM task. Discussion These findings indicate that relying on their superior semantic memory can correct the commonly exhibited profound deficit in binding memory in older age.

scholarly journals Healthy Aging diminishes the quantity (rate) and quality (precision) of episodic recollection.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Murray ◽  
David Donaldson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Significant Decline ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Memory Decline ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Test Delay

Healthy aging leads to a significant decline in episodic memory, producing a reduction in thelikelihood of successful recollection, such that older adults remember less than younger adults.Emerging evidence from behavioral and neuroimaging studies demonstrate that recollectedinformation can also be more or less precise, highlighting a source of variability in memoryperformance not typically considered in studies of aging. Consequently, it is unknown whetherolder adults, compared to younger adults, only show a significant reduction in recollection rate or also exhibit a decline in recollection precision. Here, we provide new insight into age-relatedmemory decline by employing a novel source task that allows us to examine both the quantity(rate) and quality (precision) of episodic memory retrieval. First, we validated our task,demonstrating that it can effectively capture variability in both the rate and precision in olderadults. Second, we directly compared younger and older adults’ performance as a function ofstudy-test delay, showing significant reductions in both the rate and precision of recollectionwith age. Finally, we asked whether age-related changes in recollection can be accounted for bya reduction in attention, revealing that the division of attention in young adults results in areduction in rate but shows little evidence for a change in precision. Our results raise questionsabout the nature of age-related memory decline, highlighting the importance of measuring boththe quality and quantity of memory, and suggest new routes to achieve the early detection anddiagnosis of abnormal aging deficits.

scholarly journals Influence of Aging on the Neural Correlates of Autobiographical, Episodic, and Semantic Memory Retrieval

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 4150-4163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie St-Laurent ◽  
Hervé Abdi ◽  
Hana Burianová ◽  
Cheryl L. Grady
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Semantic Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related

We used fMRI to assess the neural correlates of autobiographical, semantic, and episodic memory retrieval in healthy young and older adults. Participants were tested with an event-related paradigm in which retrieval demand was the only factor varying between trials. A spatio-temporal partial least square analysis was conducted to identify the main patterns of activity characterizing the groups across conditions. We identified brain regions activated by all three memory conditions relative to a control condition. This pattern was expressed equally in both age groups and replicated previous findings obtained in a separate group of younger adults. We also identified regions whose activity differentiated among the different memory conditions. These patterns of differentiation were expressed less strongly in the older adults than in the young adults, a finding that was further confirmed by a barycentric discriminant analysis. This analysis showed an age-related dedifferentiation in autobiographical and episodic memory tasks but not in the semantic memory task or the control condition. These findings suggest that the activation of a common memory retrieval network is maintained with age, whereas the specific aspects of brain activity that differ with memory content are more vulnerable and less selectively engaged in older adults. Our results provide a potential neural mechanism for the well-known age differences in episodic/autobiographical memory, and preserved semantic memory, observed when older adults are compared with younger adults.

Age and response bias: Evidence from the strength-based mirror effect

2014 ◽  
Vol 67 (10) ◽  
pp. 1910-1924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy H. Criss ◽  
William Aue ◽  
Aslı Kılıç
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Response Bias ◽  
Mirror Effect ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Strength Based ◽  
Age Related Changes

Performance in episodic memory is determined both by accurate retrieval from memory and by decision processes. A substantial body of literature suggests slightly poorer episodic memory accuracy for older than younger adults; however, age-related changes in the decision mechanisms in memory have received much less attention. Response bias, the willingness to endorse an item as remembered, is an important decision factor that contributes to episodic memory performance, and therefore understanding age-related changes in response bias is critical to theoretical development. We manipulate list strength in order to investigate two aspects of response bias. First, we evaluate whether criterion placement in episodic memory differs for older and younger adults. Second, we ask whether older adults have the same degree of flexibility to adjust the criterion in response to task demands as younger adults. Participants were tested on weakly and strongly encoded lists where word frequency (Experiment 1) or similarity between targets and foils (Experiment 2) was manipulated. Both older and younger adults had higher hit rates and lower false-alarm rates for strong lists than for weak lists (i.e., a strength-based mirror effect). Older adults were more conservative (less likely to endorse an item as studied) than younger adults, and we found no evidence that older and younger adults differ in their ability to flexibly adjust their criterion based on the demands of the task.

Age-Related Differences in Motivational Integration and Cognitive Control

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Marianne Yee ◽  
Sarah L Adams ◽  
Asad Beck ◽  
Todd Samuel Braver
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Monetary Reward ◽  
Potential Candidate ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Cognitive Task Performance

Motivational incentives play an influential role in value-based decision-making and cognitive control. A compelling hypothesis in the literature suggests that the brain integrates the motivational value of diverse incentives (e.g., motivational integration) into a common currency value signal that influences decision-making and behavior. To investigate whether motivational integration processes change during healthy aging, we tested older (N=44) and younger (N=54) adults in an innovative incentive integration task paradigm that establishes dissociable and additive effects of liquid (e.g., juice, neutral, saltwater) and monetary incentives on cognitive task performance. The results reveal that motivational incentives improve cognitive task performance in both older and younger adults, providing novel evidence demonstrating that age-related cognitive control deficits can be ameliorated with sufficient incentive motivation. Additional analyses revealed clear age-related differences in motivational integration. Younger adult task performance was modulated by both monetary and liquid incentives, whereas monetary reward effects were more gradual in older adults and more strongly impacted by trial-by-trial performance feedback. A surprising discovery was that older adults shifted attention from liquid valence toward monetary reward throughout task performance, but younger adults shifted attention from monetary reward toward integrating both monetary reward and liquid valence by the end of the task, suggesting differential strategic utilization of incentives. Together these data suggest that older adults may have impairments in incentive integration, and employ different motivational strategies to improve cognitive task performance. The findings suggest potential candidate neural mechanisms that may serve as the locus of age-related change, providing targets for future cognitive neuroscience investigations.

Internet Navigation Skills for Financial Management: Associations with Age, Neurocognitive Performance, and Functional Capacity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samina Rahman ◽  
Victoria Kordovski ◽  
Savanna Tierney ◽  
Steven Paul Woods
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Functional Capacity ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Internet Banking ◽  
Online Banking ◽  
Neurocognitive Performance ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Neurocognitive Functions ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Use Factors

Objective: Online banking is becoming increasingly common among older adults, whomay experience difficulties effectively navigating this instrumental technology. Thisstudy examined age effects on a performance-based Internet banking task and itsassociation with neurocognitive ability and functional capacity in older and youngeradults. Method: Thirty-five older adults and 50 younger adults completed anexperimenter-controlled online banking measure in which they independentlyperformed a series of naturalistic financial tasks (e.g., account transfers, bill paying).Participants also completed a standardized battery of neuropsychological tests andmeasures of functional capacity. Results: Older adults were markedly slower and lessaccurate in completing the Internet-based banking task, which was not confounded byother demographic, mood, or computer use factors. Higher scores on measures ofneurocognition and financial functional capacity were both strongly associated withhigher Internet-based banking task accuracy scores and quicker completion times inthe older, but not the younger adults. Conclusions: Findings suggest that older adultsexperience difficultly quickly and accurately navigating online banking platforms, whichmay be partly related to age-related declines in neurocognitive functions and basicfinancial capacity. Future studies might examine whether neurocognitive approaches toremediation and compensation can be used to improve online banking capacity inolder adults.

scholarly journals Positive Emodiversity Buffers the Association Between Stress and Depressive Symptoms

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 653-653
Author(s):  
Lizbeth Benson ◽  
Anthony Ong
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Life Span ◽  
Daily Diary ◽  
National Study ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Shannon's Entropy ◽  
Daily Experiences ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Optimal Functioning

Abstract Intensive measurements of individuals’ experiences allow for identifying patterns of functioning that may be markers of resilience, and whether such patterns differ across the life span. Using 8 daily diary reports collected in the second burst of the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE, n=848, age 34-84; 55%female), we examined whether positive emodiversity (Shannon’s entropy) attenuated the association between cumulative stressor exposure and depressive symptoms, and age-related differences therein. Results indicated age moderated the extent to which positive emodiversity attenuated the association between stress and depressive symptoms (b=0.11, p < .05). The attenuated association was strongest for younger adults with higher positive emodiversity, compared to those with lower positive emodiversity. For older adults, the association between stress and depressive symptoms was relatively similar regardless of their positive emodiversity. Implications pertain to for whom and in what contexts specific types of dynamic emotion experiences may promote optimal functioning and resilience.

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