title: Differential involvement of knowledge representation and executive control in episodic memory performance in young and older adults.
abstract: Craik and Bialystok (2006, 2008) postulated that examining the evolution of knowledge representation and control processes across the life span could help in understanding age-related cognitive changes. The present study explored the hypothesis that knowledge representation and control processes are differentially involved in the episodic memory performance of young and older adults. Young and older adults were administered a cued-recall task and tests of crystallized knowledge and executive functioning to measure representation and control processes, respectively. Results replicate the classic finding that executive and cued-recall performance decline with age, but crystallized-knowledge performance does not. Factor analysis confirmed the independence of representation and control. Correlation analyses showed that the memory performance of younger adults was correlated with representation but not with control measures, whereas the memory performance of older adults was correlated with both representation and control measures. Regression analyses indicated that the control factor was the main predictor of episodic-memory performance for older adults, with the representation factor adding an independent contribution, but the representation factor was the sole predictor for young adults. This finding supports the view that factors sustaining episodic memory vary from young adulthood to old age; representation was shown to be important throughout adulthood, and control was also important for older adults. The results also indicated that control and representation modulate age-group-related variance in episodic memory.
authors: Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l'Apprentissage, Université François–Rabelais de Tours, France. bouazzaoui@univ-tours.fr
authors: Badiâa
authors: B
authors: Bouazzaoui
authors: Séverine
authors: S
authors: Fay
authors: Laurence
authors: L
authors: Taconnat
authors: Lucie
authors: L
authors: Angel
authors: Sandrine
authors: S
authors: Vanneste
authors: Michel
authors: M
authors: Isingrini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D003463:Cues; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014706:Verbal Learning