Age-related differences in episodic odour recognition: the role of access to specific odour names

This study addressed the relationship between semantic memory variables and episodic odour recognition across the adult lifespan. Young (19-34 years), young-old (60-69 years), and old women (70-79 years) were tested in a number of measures of semantic memory: letter fluency, category fluency, vocabulary, odour familiarity, and odour naming. Odour recognition memory was assessed on two occasions: immediately after and 48 hours after inspection. Young women outperformed both groups of older women in odour recognition and odour naming, although the two older age groups did not differ. For all age groups, performance declined from immediate to delayed testing. Individual differences in fluency and vocabulary did not predict performance in odour recognition. Rather, odour recognition was related to the subjects' specific semantic knowledge of the odour, as indexed by familiarity and accuracy in odour naming. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that age and odour naming were the most potent variables in predicting performance in both immediate and delayed odour recognition. Controlling for odour naming resulted in the effect of age disappearing, indicating the pivotal role of accessibility of odour names for successful episodic odour recognition, and for age-related differences in odour recognition.