Evaluation of Episodic and Lexical Metamemory and Executive Function in Healthy Older Adults

Abstract In older adults, it is important to maintain awareness of memory as well as memory performance. However, it is not clear whether the awareness of episodic and lexical memory changes with age and is related to self-evaluation of memory and executive function. Here age-related changes and the relationship between metamemory, executive function, and metamemory scale were investigated. Healthy old (n=40) and young (n=34) groups participated in this study. In the episodic memory task, participants were asked to memorize ten Kanji words and to estimate the number of words they could recall after ten minutes. In the lexical memory task, they rated the likelihood that they could write a target Kanji word written in hiragana and then wrote them down. They were also asked to complete the metamemory in adulthood(MIA) and the position stroop task. In the episodic and lexical memory and the position stroop task and MIA subscales, the performances of the younger group were significantly better than those of the older group. In the episodic memory task, there were correlations between the metamemory and MIA subscales in both groups, but in the lexical memory task, only in the old group. No correlation was found between the results of both memory tasks and the stroop test. These results suggest that older people overestimate memory performances in the episodic and lexical memory tasks and metamemory performances may be associated with self-evaluation of memory. In addition, metamemory might not be related to frontal lobe function as shown in executive function tasks.

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Physical Activity Is Positively Associated with Episodic Memory in Aging

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617715000910 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 21 (10) ◽

pp. 780-790 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Scott M. Hayes ◽

Michael L. Alosco ◽

Jasmeet P. Hayes ◽

Margaret Cadden ◽

Kristina M. Peterson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Older Adults ◽

Executive Function ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Neuropsychological Testing ◽

Memory Task ◽

Individual Variability ◽

Relational Memory ◽

Younger Adults

AbstractAging is associated with performance reductions in executive function and episodic memory, although there is substantial individual variability in cognition among older adults. One factor that may be positively associated with cognition in aging is physical activity. To date, few studies have objectively assessed physical activity in young and older adults, and examined whether physical activity is differentially associated with cognition in aging. Young (n=29, age 18–31 years) and older adults (n=31, ages 55–82 years) completed standardized neuropsychological testing to assess executive function and episodic memory capacities. An experimental face-name relational memory task was administered to augment assessment of episodic memory. Physical activity (total step count and step rate) was objectively assessed using an accelerometer, and hierarchical regressions were used to evaluate relationships between cognition and physical activity. Older adults performed more poorly on tasks of executive function and episodic memory. Physical activity was positively associated with a composite measure of visual episodic memory and face-name memory accuracy in older adults. Physical activity associations with cognition were independent of sedentary behavior, which was negatively correlated with memory performance. Physical activity was not associated with cognitive performance in younger adults. Physical activity is positively associated with episodic memory performance in aging. The relationship appears to be strongest for face-name relational memory and visual episodic memory, likely attributable to the fact that these tasks make strong demands on the hippocampus. The results suggest that physical activity relates to cognition in older, but not younger adults. (JINS, 2015, 21, 780–790)

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Wisdom and fluid intelligence are dissociable in healthy older adults

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610221000521 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Cutter A. Lindbergh ◽

Heather Romero-Kornblum ◽

Sophia Weiner-Light ◽

J. Clayton Young ◽

Corrina Fonseca ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

San Francisco ◽

Fluid Intelligence ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Positive Association ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Self Report ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Healthy Older Adults

ABSTRACT Objectives: The relationship between wisdom and fluid intelligence (Gf) is poorly understood, particularly in older adults. We empirically tested the magnitude of the correlation between wisdom and Gf to help determine the extent of overlap between these two constructs. Design: Cross-sectional study with preregistered hypotheses and well-powered analytic plan (https://osf.io/h3pjx). Setting: Memory and Aging Center at the University of California San Francisco, located in the USA. Participants: 141 healthy older adults (mean age = 76 years; 56% female). Measurements: Wisdom was quantified using a well-validated self-report-based scale (San Diego Wisdom Scale or SD-WISE). Gf was assessed via composite measures of processing speed (Gf-PS) and executive functioning (Gf-EF). The relationships of SD-WISE scores to Gf-PS and Gf-EF were tested in bivariate correlational analyses and multiple regression models adjusted for demographics (age, sex, and education). Exploratory analyses evaluated the relationships between SD-WISE and age, episodic memory performance, and dorsolateral and ventromedial prefrontal cortical volumes on magnetic resonance imaging. Results: Wisdom showed a small, positive association with Gf-EF (r = 0.181 [95% CI 0.016, 0.336], p = .031), which was reduced to nonsignificance upon controlling for demographics, and no association with Gf-PS (r = 0.019 [95% CI −0.179, 0.216], p = .854). Wisdom demonstrated a small, negative correlation with age (r = −0.197 [95% CI −0.351, −0.033], p = .019), but was not significantly related to episodic memory or prefrontal volumes. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that most of the variance in wisdom (>95%) is unaccounted for by Gf. The independence of wisdom from cognitive functions that reliably show age-associated declines suggests that it may hold unique potential to bolster decision-making, interpersonal functioning, and other everyday activities in older adults.

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Emotional Working Memory and Alzheimer’s Disease

International Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.1155/2014/207698 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-6 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nicola Mammarella ◽

Beth Fairfield

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Working Memory ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Memory Task ◽

Emotional Information ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Affective Stimuli ◽

Age Related ◽

Dementia Of Alzheimer’S Type

A number of recent studies have reported that working memory does not seem to show typical age-related deficits in healthy older adults when emotional information is involved. Differently, studies about the short-term ability to encode and actively manipulate emotional information in dementia of Alzheimer’s type are few and have yielded mixed results. Here, we review behavioural and neuroimaging evidence that points to a complex interaction between emotion modulation and working memory in Alzheimer’s. In fact, depending on the function involved, patients may or may not show an emotional benefit in their working memory performance. In addition, this benefit is not always clearly biased (e.g., towards negative or positive information). We interpret this complex pattern of results as a consequence of the interaction between multiple factors including the severity of Alzheimer’s disease, the nature of affective stimuli, and type of working memory task.

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BDNF and COMT polymorphisms have a limited association with episodic memory performance or engagement in complex cognitive activity in healthy older adults

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory ◽

10.1016/j.nlm.2014.01.013 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 110 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Kimberley Stuart ◽

Mathew James Summers ◽

Michael J. Valenzuela ◽

James C. Vickers

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Cognitive Activity ◽

Healthy Older Adults

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Cognitive aging and verbal labeling in continuous visual memory

Memory & Cognition ◽

10.3758/s13421-020-01043-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 48 (7) ◽

pp. 1196-1213

Author(s):

Alicia Forsberg ◽

Wendy Johnson ◽

Robert H. Logie

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Aging ◽

Visual Memory ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Age Groups ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Age Related

Abstract The decline of working memory (WM) is a common feature of general cognitive decline, and visual and verbal WM capacity appear to decline at different rates with age. Visual material may be remembered via verbal codes or visual traces, or both. Souza and Skóra, Cognition, 166, 277–297 (2017) found that labeling boosted memory in younger adults by activating categorical visual long-term memory (LTM) knowledge. Here, we replicated this and tested whether it held in healthy older adults. We compared performance in silence, under instructed overt labeling (participants were asked to say color names out loud), and articulatory suppression (repeating irrelevant syllables to prevent labeling) in the delayed estimation paradigm. Overt labeling improved memory performance in both age groups. However, comparing the effect of overt labeling and suppression on the number of coarse, categorical representations in the two age groups suggested that older adults used verbal labels subvocally more than younger adults, when performing the task in silence. Older adults also appeared to benefit from labels differently than younger adults. In younger adults labeling appeared to improve visual, continuous memory, suggesting that labels activated visual LTM representations. However, for older adults, labels did not appear to enhance visual, continuous representations, but instead boosted memory via additional verbal (categorical) memory traces. These results challenged the assumption that visual memory paradigms measure the same cognitive ability in younger and older adults, and highlighted the importance of controlling differences in age-related strategic preferences in visual memory tasks.

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Memory Self-Efficacy and Memory Performance in Older Adults

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185/a000188 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 76 (1) ◽

pp. 23-33 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Marine Beaudoin ◽

Olivier Desrichard

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Memory Span ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Memory Task ◽

Study Time ◽

Mediation Effect ◽

Medium Size

Abstract. The present research examined the role persistence plays in mediating the positive impact of memory self-efficacy (MSE, i.e., one’s confidence in one’s own memory abilities) on older adults’ memory performance. In three studies, 81 to 264 older adults completed an MSE scale and carried out an explicit episodic memory task, during which we recorded their study time as an indicator of task persistence. We found that higher MSE was indirectly related to better memory performance through greater persistence during encoding, as measured by longer study time. Indirect effects were of medium size, with point estimates ranging from 0.64 to 0.85. This mediation effect was independent of factors that could be confounded with study time: chronological age, memory span, prior level of memory performance, episodic memory ability, and use of learning strategies (encoding strategies and self-testing). When confronted with difficult memory tasks, older adults who lack confidence in their memory abilities cease their efforts prematurely, which contributes to a decrease in their performance. Encouraging older adults to persist in the face of difficulties during encoding and retrieval may help alleviate the negative impact of low MSE on memory performance and allow researchers and clinicians to more accurately estimate older adults’ true memory abilities.

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Maintained Frontal Activity Underlies High Memory Function Over 8 Years in Aging

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhy177 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 29 (7) ◽

pp. 3111-3123 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Didac Vidal-Piñeiro ◽

Markus H Sneve ◽

Lars H Nyberg ◽

Athanasia M Mowinckel ◽

Donatas Sederevicius ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Memory Function ◽

Memory Task ◽

Cortical Atrophy ◽

High Performing ◽

Adult Participants ◽

Memory Experiment ◽

Frontal Activity

AbstractAging is characterized by substantial average decline in memory performance. Yet contradictory explanations have been given for how the brains of high-performing older adults work: either by engagement of compensatory processes such as recruitment of additional networks or by maintaining young adults’ patterns of activity. Distinguishing these components requires large experimental samples and longitudinal follow-up. Here, we investigate which features are key to high memory in aging, directly testing these hypotheses by studying a large sample of adult participants (n > 300) with fMRI during an episodic memory experiment where item-context relationships were implicitly encoded. The analyses revealed that low levels of activity in frontal networks—known to be involved in memory encoding—were associated with low memory performance in the older adults only. Importantly, older participants with low memory performance and low frontal activity exhibited a strong longitudinal memory decline in an independent verbal episodic memory task spanning 8 years back (n = 52). These participants were also characterized by lower hippocampal volumes and steeper rates of cortical atrophy. Altogether, maintenance of frontal brain function during encoding seems to be a primary characteristic of preservation of memory function in aging, likely reflecting intact ability to integrate information.

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Simple and Complex Rule Induction Performance in Young and Older Adults: Contribution of Episodic Memory and Working Memory

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617713001446 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 333-341 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Joukje M. Oosterman ◽

Merle S. Boeschoten ◽

Paul A.T. Eling ◽

Roy P.C. Kessels ◽

Joseph H.R. Maes

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Working Memory ◽

Executive Function ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Executive Control ◽

Rule Induction ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Memory Switching ◽

Age Related ◽

Neuropsychological Predictors

AbstractThis study tested the hypothesis that part of the age-related decline in performance on executive function tasks is due to a decline in episodic memory. For this, we developed a rule induction task in which we manipulated the involvement of episodic memory and executive control processes; age effects and neuropsychological predictors of task performance were investigated. Twenty-six younger (mean age, 24.0; range, 19–35 years) and 27 community-dwelling older adults (mean age, 67.5; range, 50–91 years) participated. The neuropsychological predictors consisted of the performance on tests of episodic memory, working memory, switching, inhibition and flexibility. Performance of the older adults was worse for the learning and memorization of simple rules, as well as for the more demanding executive control condition requiring the manipulation of informational content. Episodic memory was the only predictor of performance on the simple learning and memorization task condition whereas an increase in rule induction complexity additionally engaged working memory processes. Together, these findings indicate that part of the age-related decline on rule induction tests may be the result of a decline in episodic memory. Further studies are needed that examine the role of episodic memory in other executive function tasks in aging. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–9)

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Executive function and high ambiguity perceptual discrimination contribute to individual differences in mnemonic discrimination in older adults

10.31234/osf.io/84vzc ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Helena Gellersen ◽

Alexandra N. Trelle ◽

Richard Henson ◽

Jon Simons

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Executive Function ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Standardized Tests ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Perceptual Discrimination ◽

Age Related ◽

Component Processes ◽

The Impact

Mnemonic discrimination deficits, or impaired ability to discriminate between similar events in memory, is a hallmark of cognitive ageing, characterised by a stark age-related increase in false recognition. While individual differences in mnemonic discrimination have gained attention due to potential relevance for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), our understanding of the component processes that contribute to variability in task performance across older adults remains limited. The present investigation explores the roles of representational quality, indexed by perceptual discrimination of objects and scenes with overlapping features, and strategic retrieval ability, indexed by standardized tests of executive function, to mnemonic discrimination in a large cohort of older adults (N=124). We took an individual differences approach and characterised the contributions of these factors to performance under Forced Choice (FC) and Yes/No (YN) recognition memory formats, which place different demands on strategic retrieval. Performance in both test formats declined with age. Accounting for age, individual differences in FC memory performance were best explained by perceptual discrimination score, whereas YN memory performance was best explained by executive functions. A dominance analysis confirmed the relatively greater importance of perceptual discrimination over executive functioning for FC performance, while the opposite was true for YN. These findings highlight parallels between perceptual and mnemonic discrimination in aging, the importance of considering demands on executive functions in the context of mnemonic discrimination, and the relevance of test format for modulating the impact of these factors on performance in older adults.

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