Effects of aging on event-related neural activity related to prospective memory.
The neural foundation of age-related declines in prospective memory was explored using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Consistent with previous research, a decline in the efficiency of prospective memory was observed in older adults that reflected a decrease in veridical prospective responses and an increase in false prospective responses. The neurophysiological data revealed an age-related reduction in the amplitude of modulations of the ERPs related to prospective remembering, but not visual information processing, and are consistent with the hypothesis that a reduction in the efficiency of a frontally mediated neural system contributes to prospective memory failure in older adults.
West
R
R
Department of Psychology, 118 Haggar Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46628, USA.
Covell
E
E
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*