The Effects of Previously Acquired Knowledge on Memory for Textual Information

1987 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Byrd
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Present Experiment ◽  
Textual Information ◽  
Considerable Difficulty ◽  
Old Adults ◽  
Memory Store ◽  
Fictitious Character ◽  
Recognition Condition ◽  
Delayed Recognition

The present experiment was designed to examine how the semantic memory store of previously acquired knowledge affects the ability of young and old adults to retain textual information. The participants were presented with a series of biographical passages and were told they concerned either a famous historical character or a fictitious character. In an immediate recognition test, both young and old adults were able to discriminate between test and distractor sentences. However, in the delayed recognition condition, older adults had considerable difficulty in differentiating between target and distractor sentences, particularly in the famous character story condition. It was thought that as the older adults' episodic memory for the story deteriorated, they were unable to discriminate successfully between their store of previously acquired knowledge and the recently learned textual information.

scholarly journals A Specificity Principle of Memory: Evidence from Aging and Associative Memory

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel R. Greene ◽  
Moshe Naveh-Benjamin
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Associative Memory ◽  
Normal Aging ◽  
Associative Recognition ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Old Adults ◽  
Variable Delays ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Multiple Levels

The ability to remember associations among components of an event, which is central to episodic memory, declines with normal aging. In accord with the specificity principle of memory (Surprenant & Neath, 2009), these declines may occur because associative memory requires retrieval of specific information. Guided by this principle, we endeavored to determine whether ubiquitous age-related deficits in associative memory (e.g., Naveh-Benjamin, 2000) are restricted to specific representations or extend to the gist of associations. Young and old adults (30 each in Experiment 1, 40 each in Experiment 2) studied face-scene pairs and were administered associative recognition tests following variable delays. Whereas both young and older adults could retrieve the gist of associations, older adults were impaired in their ability to retrieve more specific representations. Our results also show that associations can be retrieved from multiple levels of specificity, suggesting that episodic memory might be accessed on a continuum of specificity.

The Use of Organizational Strategies to Improve Memory for Prose Passages

1986 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 257-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Byrd
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Organizational Strategies ◽  
Correct Order ◽  
Prose Passage ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Textual Information ◽  
Old Adults ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Sufficient Degree ◽  
Incidental Memory

Previous studies have shown that incidental memory for the material increases when older adults are forced to analyze material to the extent necessary to impose an organizational structure. The present experiment sought to extend this finding by examining the effects of enforced organizational strategies on the memory of older adults for textual material. Young and old adults were required to sort the scrambled sentences of a prose passage into the correct order. A subsequent incidental memory test showed that, when older adults were required to make an in-depth analysis to sort the material, their incidental memory for the textual information was approximately equal to that of their younger counterparts. Additional analysis revealed that, although older adults spent more time sorting the material than did younger adults, it was only when required to analyze the material to a sufficient degree that the older adults showed any improvement in memory.

The Effects of Divided Attention on Encoding- and Retrieval-Related Brain Activity: A PET Study of Younger and Older Adults

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 775-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole D. Anderson ◽  
Tetsuya Iidaka ◽  
Roberto Cabeza ◽  
Shitij Kapur ◽  
Anthony R. McIntosh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Divided Attention ◽  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Old Adults ◽  
Encoding And Retrieval

Divided attention (DA) disrupts episodic encoding, but has little effect on episodic retrieval. Furthermore, normal aging is associated with episodic memory impairments, and when young adults are made to encode information under DA conditions, their memory performance is reduced and resembles that of old adults working under full attention (FA) conditions. Together, these results suggest a common neurocognitive mechanism by which aging and DA during encoding disrupt memory performance. In the current study, we used PET to investigate younger and older adults' brain activity during encoding and retrieval under FA and DA conditions. In FA conditions, the old adults showed reduced activity in prefrontal regions that younger adults activated preferentially during encoding or retrieval, as well as increased activity in prefrontal regions young adults did not activate. These results indicate that prefrontal functional specificity of episodic memory is reduced by aging. During encoding, DA reduced memory performance, and reduced brain activity in left-prefrontal and medial-temporal lobe regions for both age groups, indicating that DA during encoding interferes with encoding processes that lead to better memory performance. During retrieval, memory performance and retrieval-related brain activity were relatively immune to DA for both age groups, suggesting that DA during retrieval does not interfere with the brain systems necessary for successful retrieval. Finally, left inferior prefrontal activity was reduced similarly by aging and by DA during encoding, suggesting that the behavioral correspondence between these effects is the result of a reduced ability to engage in elaborate encoding operations.

Combined genetic influences on episodic memory decline in older adults without dementia.

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 654-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika J. Laukka ◽  
Ylva Köhncke ◽  
Goran Papenberg ◽  
Laura Fratiglioni ◽  
Lars Bäckman
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
Memory Decline

The Self-Reference Effect on Episodic Memory Recollection in Young and Older Adults and Alzheimer’s Disease

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1107-1117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lalanne ◽  
Johanna Rozenberg ◽  
Pauline Grolleau ◽  
Pascale Piolino
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Reference

scholarly journals Social Engagement and Episodic Memory in Non-Hispanic Black and White Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 343-343
Author(s):  
Abbey Hamlin ◽  
A Zarina Kraal ◽  
Laura Zahodne
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Significant Positive Association ◽  
Cross Sectional

Abstract Social engagement may confer cognitive benefits in older adulthood, but studies have typically been restricted to largely non-Hispanic White (NHW) samples. Levels of social engagement vary across race such that NHW report larger social networks, more frequent participation in social activities, and greater social support than non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB). Associations between social engagement and cognition may also vary by race, but research is sparse. The current cross-sectional study examined associations between different aspects of social engagement and episodic memory performance, as well as interactions between social engagement and race among NHB and NHW participants in the Michigan Cognitive Aging Project (N = 247; 48.4% NHB; age = 64.19 ± 2.92). Social engagement (network size, activities, support) was self-reported. Episodic memory was a z-score composite of immediate, delayed, and recognition trials of a list-learning task. Separate hierarchical linear regression models quantified interactions between race and each of the three social engagement variables on episodic memory, controlling for sociodemographics, depressive symptoms, and health conditions. Results showed a main effect of more frequent social activity on better episodic memory, as well as an interaction between race and social support indicating a significant positive association in NHB but not NHW. These preliminary findings suggest that participating in social activities may be equally beneficial for episodic memory across NHB and NHW older adults and that social support may be particularly beneficial for NHB. Future research is needed to determine the potential applications of these results in reducing cognitive inequalities through the development of culturally-relevant interventions.

35 Social Contact Mode and 15-Year Episodic Memory Trajectories in Older Adults with and Without Hearing Loss: the Elsa Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. i7-i11
Author(s):  
S Rafnsson ◽  
A Maharani ◽  
G Tampubolon
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Impaired Hearing ◽  
Contact Mode

Abstract Introduction Frequent social contact benefits cognition in later life although evidence is lacking on the potential importance of the modes chosen by older adults for interacting with others in their social network. Method 11,513 participants in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) provided baseline information on hearing status and social contact mode and frequency of use. Multilevel growth curve models compared episodic memory (immediate and delayed recall) at baseline and long-term in participants who interacted frequently (offline only or offline and online combined), compared to infrequently, with others in their social network. Results Frequent offline (β = 0.29; p < 0.05) and combined offline and online (β = 0.76; p < 0.001) social interactions predicted better episodic memory after adjustment for multiple confounding factors. We observed positive long-term influences of combined offline and online interactions on memory in participants without hearing loss (β = 0.48, p = 0.001) but not of strictly offline interactions (β = 0.00, p = 0.970). In those with impaired hearing, long-term memory was positively influenced by both modes of engagement (offline only: β = 0.93, p < 0.001; combined online and offline: β = 1.47, p < 0.001). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings. Conclusion Supplementing conventional social interactions with online communication modes may help older adults, especially those living with hearing loss, sustain, and benefit cognitively from, personal relationships.

scholarly journals Social isolation, rather than loneliness, is associated with cognitive decline in older adults: the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Bin Yu ◽  
Andrew Steptoe ◽  
Yongjie Chen ◽  
Xiaohua Jia
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Mental Status ◽  
Chinese Older Adults ◽  
Confounding Variables

Abstract Background Social isolation and loneliness have each been associated with cognitive decline, but most previous research is limited to Western populations. This study examined the relationships of social isolation and loneliness on cognitive function among Chinese older adults. Methods This study used two waves of data (2011 and 2015) from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study and analyses were restricted to those respondents aged 50 and older. Social isolation, loneliness, and cognitive function were measured at baseline. Follow-up measures on cognitive function were obtained for 7761 participants (mean age = 60.97, s.d. = 7.31; male, 50.8%). Lagged dependent variable models adjusted for confounding factors were used to evaluate the association between baseline isolation, loneliness, and cognitive function at follow-up. Results Loneliness was significantly associated with the cognitive decline at follow-up (episodic memory: β = −0.03, p < 0.01; mental status: β = −0.03, p < 0.01) in the partially adjusted models. These associations became insignificant after additional confounding variables (chronic diseases, health behaviors, disabilities, and depressive symptoms) were taken into account (all p > 0.05). By contrast, social isolation was significantly associated with decreases in all cognitive function measures at follow-up (episodic memory: β = −0.05, p < 0.001; mental status: β = −0.03, p < 0.01) even after controlling for loneliness and all confounding variables. Conclusions Social isolation is associated with cognitive decline in Chinese older adults, and the relationships are independent of loneliness. These findings expand our knowledge about the links between social relationships and the cognitive function in non-Western populations.

scholarly journals Coping Capacity and Episodic Memory in Older Adults With SMCs: The Mediating Role of Healthy Lifestyle

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 278-279
Author(s):  
Feilong Wang ◽  
Shijie Li ◽  
Kaifa Wang ◽  
Yanni Yang
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Coping Capacity ◽  
Memory Decline ◽  
Mediating Role

Abstract Older adults with subjective memory complaints (SMCs) are at increased risk for episodic memory decline. Episodic memory decline is an important predictor of objective memory impairment (one of the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease) and an often-suggested criterion of successful memory aging. Therefore, it is important to explore the determinant factors that influence episodic memory in older adults with SMCs. Roy adaptation model and preliminary evidence suggest that older adults with SMCs undergo a coping and adaptation process, a process influenced by many health-related risks and protective factors. This study aimed to explore the relationship between coping capacity and episodic memory, and the mediating role of healthy lifestyle between coping capacity and episodic memory in a sample of 309 community-dwelling older adults with SMCs. Results from the structural equation modeling showed that coping capacity directly affects episodic memory (r=0.629, p＜0.001), and there is a partial mediating effect (60.5%) of healthy lifestyle among this sample of older adults with SMCs. This study demonstrates that coping capacity and adaptation positively correlate with episodic memory in older adults with SMCs, and that these correlations are mediated by healthy lifestyle. The results suggest that older adults with poor coping capacity should be assessed and monitored regularly, and clear lifestyle-related interventions initiated by healthcare providers that promote healthy lifestyles may effectively improve coping capacity and episodic memory in this population group. Note: First author: Feilong Wang, Co-first author: Shijie li, Corresponding author: Yanni Yang

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