Age differences in episodic memory for restructured novel objects: The effect of schema deviations

In the era of artificial intelligence, synthetic visual content is increasingly produced by generative technologies. An important question is how older adults process and remember such restructured novel objects, and which cognitive and neural factors are associated with successful memory. In two studies, young and older adults completed a restructured object memory task in which objects varied in schema deviation: not restructured (NR), reasonably restructured (RR), and unreasonably restructured (UR). Study 1 showed that schema deviation did not affect young adults' true object memory, whereas older adults exhibited a graded decline (NR > RR > UR). Study 2 replicated the age-sensitive pattern under time-limited responding. However, the RR advantage of older adults over UR was no longer evident. This pattern is consistent with the possibility that response deadlines shift the decision processes used to discriminate targets from within-triad lures. Study 2 also used structural MRI to test whether individual differences in the thickness of the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC)-specifically the left ventrolateral (LVLPFC) and right dorsolateral (RDLPFC) regions-are related to memory outcomes. Across participants, greater LVLPFC and RDLPFC cortical thickness was associated with higher true object memory and fewer schema-consistent false memories. Together, these findings suggest that increasing schema deviation disproportionately challenges episodic memory in older adults and that individual differences in LPFC cortical thickness are related to individual differences in memory accuracy. These results generate testable hypotheses about how schema-consistent versus schema-deviating designs may affect memory and decision-making tendencies differently in older adults under time constraints.