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Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Examining the Characteristics of Episodic Memory using Event-related Potentials in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: August 30, 2011
Strategy difficulty effects in young and older adults' episodic memory are modulated by inter-stimulus intervals and
Lucile Burger1, Kim Uittenhove2, Patrick Lemaire3
1Université François-Rabelais, Tours, France; 'UMR 7295 Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l'Apprentissage', CNRS, France.
Abstract:
Efficient execution of strategies is crucial to memory performance and to age-related differences in this performance. Relative strategy complexity influences memory performance and aging effects on memory. Here, we aimed to further our understanding of the effects of relative strategy complexity by looking at the role of cognitive control functions and the time-course of the effects of relative strategy complexity. Thus, we manipulated inter-stimulus intervals (ISI) and assessed executive functions. Results showed that (a) performance as a function of the relative strategy difficulty of the current and previous trial was modulated by ISI, (b) these effects were modulated by inhibition capacities, and (c) significant age differences were found in the way ISI modulates relative strategy difficulty. These findings have important implications for understanding the relationships between aging, executive control, and strategy execution in episodic memory.
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