title: Working-memory capacity and reading comprehension in young and older adults.
abstract: This study investigates the role of working-memory capacity in reading comprehension in young and older subjects. A task yielding separate measures for processing and storage components was used to assess working-memory capacity. A French version of the Nelson-Denny test was administered as a measure of abilities that underlie reading comprehension. In the working-memory task, recall performances were lower in older subjects. Nevertheless, the intercorrelations suggested that the age-related impairment was probably linked to the processing component. Mean scores on the reading-comprehension test did not differ between groups. However, scores were correlated with processing time on the working-memory task in younger subjects, but with storage capacity in older subjects.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive de la Communication EPHE (3ème Section), Université René Descartes, CNRS, Paris, France.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Ehrlich
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brébion
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tardieu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D011932:Reading; D012016:Reference Values; D012153:Retention, Psychology