Aging Weakens Memory for Schema-Deviant Objects and Decouples Gaze Sampling from Retrieval Decisions

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Human Aging Research

Background:

• Schemas are crucial for memory formation and recall.
• The impact of aging on memory for schema-inconsistent events remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how aging affects memory for objects that deviate from established schemas.
• To determine if age-related memory deficits depend on the integrability of schema-deviant object configurations.
• To examine whether eye movement patterns reflect retrieval decision-making processes in aging.

Main Methods:

• Young and older adults performed a memory task involving schema-consistent, reasonably restructured (integrable), and unreasonably restructured (non-integrable) objects.
• Eye movements were recorded during retrieval, alongside subjective ratings of perceived deviation.
• Representational similarity analysis linked eye-movement patterns to memory errors.

Main Results:

• Older adults exhibited poorer memory and cue discrimination, particularly for restructured objects, with errors favoring schema-consistent items.
• Younger adults' eye movements, specifically target viewing and fixation duration, correlated with memory performance and decision-making.
• Older adults showed a weaker relationship between visual evidence sampling (eye movements) and retrieval decisions.

Conclusions:

• Aging leads to diminished memory for schema-deviant objects, likely due to reduced representational fidelity.
• Older adults demonstrate less flexibility in utilizing visual evidence when prior knowledge conflicts with new object configurations.
• Age-related differences in memory are exacerbated by the cognitive demands of integrating schema-deviant information.