Transfer after process-based object-location memory training in healthy older adults

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Psychology

Background:

• Age-related episodic memory decline is linked to reduced ability to encode and retrieve associations.
• This associative memory ability is also connected to reasoning skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if process-based training of associative memory can improve episodic memory and reasoning in healthy older adults.
• To assess near, intermediate, and far transfer effects of this training.

Main Methods:

• An experimental group (n=36) underwent 30 sessions of object-location memory training.
• An active control group (n=31) practiced visual perception.
• Cognitive tasks assessed spatial episodic memory, verbal episodic memory, and reasoning at four time points.

Main Results:

• Training led to significant improvements in spatial episodic memory and reasoning.
• These improvements were sustained for four months after the training concluded.
• No significant transfer effects were observed for verbal episodic memory.

Conclusions:

• Process-based associative memory training can enhance cognitive functions in healthy older adults.
• This training demonstrates potential for long-term positive effects on untrained cognitive abilities, including reasoning.
• Findings offer empirical support for cognitive training interventions in aging populations.