Memory and Aging - Domains of Memory Mostly Spared

Domains of Memory Mostly Spared

In contrast, implicit, or procedural memory, typically shows no decline with age. Other types of short-term memory show little decline, and semantic knowledge (e.g. vocabulary) actually improves with age. In addition, the enhancement seen in memory for emotional events is also maintained with age.

Recently, experiments that have tested for the significant of under performance of memory for an older adult group as compared to a young adult group, hypothesized that the deficit in associate memory due to age can be linked with a physical deficit. This deficit can be explained by the inefficient processing in the medial-temporal regions. This region is important in episodic memory, which is one of the two types of long-term human memory, and it contains the hippocampi, which is crucial in creating memorial association between items.

Losing working memory has been cited as being the primary reason for a decline in a variety of cognitive tasks due to aging. These tasks include long term memory, problem solving, decision making, and language. Working memory involves the manipulation of information that is being obtained, and then using this information to complete a task. For example, the ability of one to recite numbers they have just been given backwards requires working memory, rather than just simple rehearsal of the numbers which would require only short term memory. One's ability to tap into their working memory declines as the aging process progresses. It has been seen that the more complex a task is, the more difficulty the aging person has with completing this task. Active reorganization and manipulation of information becomes increasingly harder as adults age. When an older individual is completing a task, such as having a conversation or doing work, they are using their working memory to help them complete this task. As we age, our ability to multi-task seems to decline,thus after an interruption it is often more difficult for an aging individual to successfully finish the task at hand. Additionally, working memory plays a role in the comprehension and production of speech. It is for this reason that we often see a decline in sentence comprehension and sentence production as individuals age. Rather than linking this decline directly to deficits in linguistic ability, research has shown that it is actually deficits in working memory that contribute to these decreasing language skills.