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Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
Published on: September 20, 2020
Higher intraindividual variability is associated with more forgetting and dedifferentiated memory functions in old
Goran Papenberg1, Lars Bäckman, Christian Chicherio
1Max Planck Institute for Human Development, D-14195 Berlin, Germany. papenberg@mpib-berlin.mpg.de
Neuropsychologia
|March 29, 2011
Summary
Older adults with higher reaction time (RT) variability forget more and show less distinct memory functions. This cognitive pattern may relate to dopamine modulation, impacting memory consolidation and function differentiation in aging.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Psychology
Background:
- Intraindividual trial-to-trial reaction time (RT) variability is often elevated in populations with cognitive impairments.
- Increased RT variability in older adults is linked to cognitive decline and memory deficits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between RT variability and memory functions in older adults.
- To examine how RT variability influences forgetting and the differentiation of episodic and working memory.
Main Methods:
- Participants (aged 60-71) were divided into high-variability (n=175) and low-variability (n=174) groups based on RT in a perceptual speed task.
- Memory performance was assessed over a 1-week retention interval.
- Multiple group latent factor analyses were used to compare memory correlations between groups.
Main Results:
- Higher RT variability was associated with significantly more forgetting of memory scenes over one week.
- Slower RT was linked to general episodic memory decline but not forgetting.
- Episodic and working memory were more highly correlated in the high-variability group (r=.63) than the low-variability group (r=.25).
Conclusions:
- Increased RT variability in older adults is a marker for greater memory forgetting and dedifferentiation of cognitive functions.
- Findings align with dopamine modulation theories, suggesting its role in memory consolidation and cognitive dedifferentiation in aging.
- RT variability may serve as a sensitive indicator of cognitive health in older age.
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