Adult age differences in learning and generalization of feedback-based associations

Feedback-based associative learning (e.g., acquiring new associations from positive or negative outcomes) and generalization (e.g., applying past learning to new settings) are important cognitive skills that enable people to make economic decisions or social judgments. This ability to acquire new skills based on feedback and transfer those experiences to predict positive outcomes in novel situations is essential at all ages, but especially among older adults who must continually adapt to new people, environments, and technologies. Ample evidence from animal work, clinical research, and computational modeling has demonstrated that feedback-based associative learning is sensitive to basal ganglia dysfunction and generalization to medial temporal lobe dysfunction. This dissociation is relevant because of recent evidence that has suggested healthy aging compromises the basal ganglia system earlier than the medial temporal lobes. However, few studies have investigated how healthy aging influences these cognitive processes. Here, we examined both feedback-based associative learning and generalization in younger, middle-aged, and older adults using a computerized acquired equivalence task. Results revealed a significant effect of age group on feedback-based associative learning, consistent with evidence of persistent age-related declines in the basal ganglia. In contrast, generalization was spared in all but the oldest adult group, likely reflecting preserved medial temporal lobe function until advanced old age. Our findings add behavioral evidence to the emerging view that healthy aging affects the striatal system before the medial temporal lobes. Although further evidence is needed, this finding may shed light on the possible time course of neural system dysfunction in healthy aging.