Learning and Memory in the Aging Brain: The Function of Declarative and Nondeclarative Memory Over the Lifespan

Abstract

Human memory consists of distinct learning and memory systems, each contributing in unique ways to the acquisition, retention, and subsequent retrieval of information. This chapter focuses on age-related changes to long-term declarative (episodic and semantic memory) and nondeclarative (priming, classical conditioning, procedural and reinforcement learning) systems. Although these systems exhibit considerable independence in processing characteristics and neural underpinnings, accumulating evidence points to interactions between systems, which may increase observable age differences in learning and memory performance. Thus, while this chapter largely highlights age effects within traditional memory-system boundaries, a frontier in aging research is emerging at their intersections.