Working Memory as a Candidate Mechanism Linking Aging and the Sense of Agency: A Narrative Review

Sense of agency (SoA) refers to the experience or belief that one's own actions directly lead to a particular event in the body or external world. SoA does not arise from a single mechanism; rather, evidence suggests the integration of predictive, sensory, and contextual cues whose relative weighting may vary across tasks and individuals. Since this process requires the maintenance, comparison, and updating of action-related information, working memory-related processes have been proposed as a candidate contributor to selected components of agency. At the same time, aging is associated with alterations in temporal processing, sensory precision, executive control, and other functions that may change the use of agency-related cues. However, the extent to which age-related differences in SoA can be explained by working memory-related processes remains undefined. This narrative review examines the theoretical and empirical basis for considering working memory as a candidate mechanism linking aging and SoA. Specifically, it discusses major theoretical frameworks of agency, measurement approaches, evidence on aging-related differences in SoA, and studies suggesting that cognitive load- and working memory-related factors may modulate agency-related processing. Current evidence is suggestive, although it remains indirect, highlighting key methodological limitations and outlining priorities for future research to clarify how aging- and working-memory-related processes may shape different components of agency.