title: Memory consolidation effects on memory stabilization and item integration in older adults.
abstract: This study examined the differential effects of aging on consolidation processes that strengthen newly acquired memory traces in veridical form (memory stabilization) versus consolidation processes that are responsible for integrating these memory traces into an existing body of knowledge (item integration). Older adults learned 13 nonwords and were tested on their memory for the nonwords, and on whether these nonwords impacted upon processing of similar-sounding English words immediately and 24 hours later. Participants accurately recognized the nonwords immediately, but showed significant decreases in delayed recognition and recall. In comparison, the nonwords impacted upon processing of similar-sounding words only in the delayed test. Together, these findings suggest that memory consolidation processes may be more evident in item integration than memory stabilization processes for new declarative memories in older adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK. helen.brown@warwick.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9404-9515
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Maylor
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D000069077:Memory Consolidation; D008875:Middle Aged; D014825:Vocabulary
keywords: Aging; Item integration; Memory consolidation; Memory stabilization; Vocabulary learning