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An Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Ageing on Sentence Processing
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Semantic memory and reading comprehension: the relationship through adulthood and aging.

Caterina Artuso1, Carmen Belacchi2

  • 1Department of Communication Sciences, Humanities and International Studies, University of Urbino, Via Saffi, 15, 61029, Urbino, Italy. caterina.artuso@uniurb.it.

Aging Clinical and Experimental Research
|February 12, 2021
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Summary

Older adults rely on preserved thematic knowledge for reading comprehension, unlike younger adults who use broader semantic skills. Education and thematic knowledge predict expository text understanding in older age.

Keywords:
Age-related differencesReading comprehensionSemantic memoryTaxonomic knowledgeThematic knowledge

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience of Aging
  • Linguistics

Background:

  • Working memory and reading comprehension are linked across the lifespan.
  • Older adults struggle with expository texts due to cognitive load, while narrative comprehension remains intact.
  • The role of semantic knowledge in aging readers is under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between semantic knowledge and reading comprehension in younger and older adults.
  • To examine how different text genres (narrative vs. expository) are processed by different age groups.
  • To identify predictors of reading comprehension in aging, considering semantic strategies and cognitive reserve.

Main Methods:

  • Administered semantic working memory tasks, word-span tasks, and narrative/expository reading comprehension tests to younger and older adults.
  • Assessed the flexible use of taxonomic versus thematic semantic knowledge.
  • Analyzed predictors of comprehension performance based on age and semantic strategy.

Main Results:

  • Younger adults flexibly used both taxonomic and thematic knowledge; older adults predominantly used thematic knowledge.
  • In younger adults, thematic knowledge predicted narrative comprehension, while backward span predicted expository comprehension.
  • In older adults, thematic knowledge and education level significantly predicted expository text comprehension, with no specific predictors for narrative comprehension.

Conclusions:

  • Older adults' reading comprehension, particularly of expository texts, may be supported by preserved thematic semantic knowledge, acting as a form of cognitive reserve.
  • Education level appears to play a protective role in maintaining reading comprehension abilities in older age.
  • The findings highlight age-related differences in semantic processing strategies and their impact on text comprehension.