| |
Abstract:
Decreased memory performance is a typical complaint of normal
aging. Memory for contextual attributes of events (e.g., time of
occurrence) is more affected by aging than memory for the events
themselves. It is hypothesized that the frontal lobes are essential
to the performance of tasks involving memory for contextual
details, and that normal aging often results in decreased frontal
lobe function. Event-related brain potentials were recorded from 15
young (18-26) and 15 old (65-82) subjects during tasks involving
recency and recognition judgments of line drawings. Older subjects
differed in their performance based on their educational level. Old
subjects with high education did not differ from the young in
either task. Old subjects with lower education performed at chance
in the recency task but did not differ from the young in the
recognition task. P300 amplitude was reduced in both groups of
older adults with respect to the young, but especially in the
low-education group. Correct recency test trials were characterized
by increased frontal activity in the old subjects with high
education. This activity was not evident in either of the other
groups. These data suggest the possibility of compensatory activity
in high-education older adults in tasks that are typically affected
by aging.
|
