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Updated: Jun 25, 2026
09:13
A Real-world What-Where-When Memory Test
Published on: May 16, 2017
Measuring relational memory in older and younger adults
Jennifer N Sexton1, Lillian Behm1, Jill A Rose1
1Department of Neurological Science, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States.
Frontiers in Cognition
|June 24, 2026
Summary
Older adults show reduced relational memory performance compared to younger adults, especially for spatial and temporal details. This highlights the need for comprehensive memory assessments across the lifespan.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Psychology
Background:
- Normal aging affects cognitive abilities, particularly certain memory types.
- Relational memory, crucial for forming cohesive memories, involves binding various stimuli and relations (spatial, associative, sequential).
- Previous research often studied aging-related relational memory deficits in isolation, not simultaneously assessing multiple aspects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To simultaneously compare multiple facets of relational memory between healthy younger and older adults.
- To identify age-related differences in specific relational memory components.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of healthy younger adults (19-35 years, n=40) and older adults (65-77 years, n=40) participated.
- Participants completed a memory task assessing item, space, re-pair, and time conditions simultaneously.
Main Results:
- Older adults exhibited lower memory performance than younger adults across all task conditions.
- A significant interaction revealed that age-related differences were most pronounced in the time and space conditions.
Conclusions:
- Significant age-related deficits exist in multiple aspects of relational memory.
- The findings emphasize the importance of using a unified study format to comprehensively evaluate relational memory across the lifespan.
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