Recollective experience, normal aging, and frontal dysfunction.
This study examined the nature of verbal recognition memory in young and old subjects. Following presentation of a word list, subjects undertook a yes-no recognition test and indicated whether their decision was based on explicit recollection or assessment of familiarity. Explicit recollection declined with age, and familiarity-based recognition increased. Furthermore, the extent to which older subjects relied on familiarity-based recognition correlated with neuropsychological indices of frontal lobe dysfunction. A further experiment indicated that the change from explicit recollection to familiarity-based responding was unrelated to changes in older subjects' confidence about their memory. The data indicate the central role of frontal dysfunction in understanding age-related memory loss.
Parkin
A J
AJ
Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, East Sussex, England.
Walter
B M
BM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012016:Reference Values; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000502:physiology