title: Mediators of long-term memory performance across the life span.
abstract: An individual-differences approach was used to examine the component processes that predict episodic long-term memory performance. A total of 301 participants ages 20-90 received a 7-hr cognitive battery across 3 days. Key constructs hypothesized to affect long-term memory function were assessed, including multiple measures of working memory and perceptual speed. Latent-construct, structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship of these measures and age to different types of long-term memory tasks. Speed was a key construct for all 3 types of memory tasks, mediating substantial age-related variance; working memory was a fundamental construct for free and cued recall but not spatial memory. The data suggest that both speed and working memory are fundamental to explaining age-related changes in cognitive aging but that the relative contributions of these constructs vary as a function of the type of memory task.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109, USA. Denise@umich.edu
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lautenschlager
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Earles
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Frieske
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zwahr
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Gaines
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D011930:Reaction Time; D012016:Reference Values; D012153:Retention, Psychology