Working memory: Differences between young adults and the aged in listening tasks *

Abstract

Working memory is a system with a limited capacity which enables the temporary storage and manipulation of the information necessary for complex cognitive tasks. Numerous studies have suggested that performance in these tasks is related to age where older adults have a lesser performance than the young.ObjectiveTo analyze the processing functions of working memory in a listening task.Method59 educated participants aged between 19 and 76 years having no memory complaints were divided into two groups (young and aged adults). The test administered was the adapted Listening Span, in which the subject listens to a sentence, judging whether it is true or false and, concomitantly, stores the last word of each sentence for later evocation.ResultsIn the judgment task, performance of both groups approached to a similar average. Results of sentence recall demonstrated that with the increase in number of sentences at each level, performance of both groups declined. In the blocks of sentences 1 and 2 at level 1, all participants performed similarly. In the block of sentences 3, at level 1, there was a difference between the young and the aged. From this level onward (retention of 3 to 5 items), the aged and the young differed significantly.ConclusionsAn increase in the number of sentences diminished participants’ performance of temporary storage in the recall tasks, while not interfering in the processing of sentences during judgment. The difference between the young and the aged became more accentuated as item retention demands increased.

Impairment and Control: Bilateral Relationship between Alcohol Use Disorder and Working Memory

“…Working memory, like other cognitive abilities declines with age, however, some specific diseases, such as AUD, can decrease an individual's WM capacity, even in a young population [4]. In an experiment examining the effect of age on working memory, researchers divided 59 participants between 19 and 76 years into two groups (young and aged adults).…”

“…Simultaneously, participants needed to store the last word of each sentence for later recall. It was found that older adults have a much harder time remembering words than younger people, which makes sense since WM gets worse with age [4].…”

The effects of multimodal training on working memory in younger and older adults

“…Also, a large number of studies have shown that the difference between younger and older people's performance is more accentuated with the increase in WM demands (e.g. updating information, inhibiting of task-irrelevant stimuli, shifting mental sets; Dorbath et al, 2011;Freitas et al, 2007;Oberauer, 2001;Yi & Friedman, 2015). These findings converge with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies showing bilateral activation of WM-related prefrontal areas in older adults, which may compensate for cognitive decline and to maintain performance in WM tasks at higher levels of complexity (Reuter-Lorenz et al, 2005), suggesting that WM is especially sensitive to age-related changes.…”

Site Visit vs Mental Visualization on Lanna Architecture: A Study on Working Memory in Young Adult

“…Therefore, the age of young adults will provide proof regarding their ability to identify their understanding of Lanna architecture through words, images, sounds, etc. In addition, Freitas, M. I. d'Ávila et al (2007) assert that the three subcomponents of working memory have a significant role in controlling attention and coordinating activity in young adults. Moreover, this current study involves different activities set out to test the ability of young adults as concerns their knowledge of Lanna architecture.…”