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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2026

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment

Published on: September 20, 2020

Processing speed and visuospatial executive function predict visual working memory ability in older adults.

Louise A Brown¹, James R Brockmole, Alan J Gow

¹Department of Psychology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. louise.brown@ntu.ac.uk

Experimental Aging Research

|January 10, 2012

Summary

Processing speed and executive functions significantly predict visual working memory (VWM) in older adults. These factors help explain age-related declines in VWM, offering insights into cognitive aging.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Gerontology
Psychology

Background:

Visual working memory (VWM) is demonstrably sensitive to aging.
Understanding factors influencing VWM in older adults is crucial for elucidating cognitive aging processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify predictors of VWM in older adults.
To explore the relationship between VWM and cognitive abilities like childhood intelligence, processing speed, and executive functions.

Main Methods:

A subsample (N=44, mean age=73) from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 was studied.
VWM was assessed using a modified Visual Patterns Test.
Predictors included childhood intelligence, processing speed, executive function (verbal fluency, block design), and spatial working memory.

Main Results:

Processing speed and executive function (visuospatial organization) were significant predictors of VWM.
Processing speed exhibited the largest effect size (r = -.53, p < .001).
These factors accounted for 35% of VWM variance, even after controlling for childhood intelligence.

Conclusions:

Processing speed likely impacts VWM through encoding and rehearsal efficiency in older adults.
Executive resources related to visuospatial processing are also key determinants of VWM performance.
These findings highlight the multifaceted nature of cognitive aging in relation to VWM.