Memory and aging
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One of the key concerns of older adults is the experience of memory loss, especially as it is one of the hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. However, memory loss is qualitatively different in normal aging from the kind of memory loss associated with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's. <ref>Budson A.E., & Price B.H. (2005). "Memory Dysfunction". (pdf) The New England Journal of Medicine, 352, 692-699.</ref>
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[edit] Memory decline in normal aging
The ability to encode new memories of events or facts and working memory shows decline in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. <ref>Hedden, T., & Gabrieli, J.D.E. (2004). "Insights into the ageing mind: A view from cognitive neuroscience". (pdf) Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 5, 87-97. </ref>These deficits may be related to impairments seen in the ability to refresh recently processed information. <ref>Johnson, M.K., Reeder, J.A., Raye, C.L., & Mitchell, K.J. (2002). "Second thoughts versus second looks: An age-related deficit in selectively refreshing just-active information". (pdf) Psychological Science, 13, 64-67.</ref> In addition, even when equated in memory for a particular item or fact, older adults tend to be worse at remembering the source of their information, <ref>Johnson, M.K., Hashtroudi, S., & Lindsay, D.S. (1993). "Source monitoring". (pdf) Psychological Bulletin, 114, 3-28.</ref> a deficit that may be related to declines in the ability to bind information together in memory. <ref>Mitchell, K.J., Johnson, M.K., Raye, C.L., Mather, M., & D'Esposito, M. (2000). "Aging and reflective processes of working memory: Binding and test load deficits". Psychology and Aging, 15, 527-541.</ref>
[edit] Domains of memory mostly spared
In contrast, implicit, or procedural memory typically shows no decline with age <ref>Fleischman, D.A., Wilson, R.S., Gabrieli, J.D.E., Bienias, J.L., Bennett, D.A. (2004). Abstract "A longitudinal study of implicit and explicit memory in old persons". Psychology and Aging, 19, 617-625.</ref> and semantic knowledge, such as vocabulary, actually improves somewhat with age. <ref>Verhaeghen, P. (2003). Abstract Aging and vocabulary scores: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Aging, 18, 332-339.</ref> In addition, the enhancement seen in memory for emotional events is also maintained with age. <ref name=Mather2005>Mather, M., & Carstensen, L. L. (2005). "Aging and motivated cognition: The positivity effect in attention and memory". (pdf) Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9, 496-502.</ref>
[edit] Retrospective versus prospective memory
Memory is involved in remembering to do things in the future, as well as in remembering what happened in the past. Some studies have found that older adults are worse at prospective memory than younger adults are, yet studies that examine prospective memory in naturalistic contexts often find that older adults are better than younger adults. <ref>Henry, J.D., MacLeod, M.S., Phillips, L.H., & Crawford, J.R. (2004). "A meta-analytic review of prospective memory and aging". Psychology and Aging, 19, 27-39.</ref>
[edit] Qualitative changes
Most research on memory and aging has focused on how older adults perform less well at a particular memory task. However, recently researchers have also discovered that simply saying that older adults are doing the same thing, only less of it, is not always accurate. In some cases, older adults seem to be using different strategies than younger adults. For example, brain imaging studies have revealed that older adults are more likely to use both hemispheres when completing memory tasks than younger adults. <ref>Cabeza, R. (2002). "Hemispheric asymmetry reduction in older adults: The HAROLD model". (pdf) Psychology and Aging, 17, 85-100.</ref> In addition, older adults sometimes show a positivity effect when remembering information, which seems to be a result of the increased focus on regulating emotion seen with age. <ref name=Mather2005/>
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
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[edit] Further reading
- Memory-related resources from the National Institutes of Health
- What is normal memory loss with aging
- Resources to keep your memory sharp from the AARP
- Recent findings about aging and emotional memory
- Laboratory for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease Research - Prof. Dr. Christian Haassnl:Cognitieve veroudering
