title: No Evidence for Improved Associative Memory Performance Following Process-Based Associative Memory Training in Older Adults.
abstract: Studies attempting to improve episodic memory performance with strategy instructions and training have had limited success in older adults: their training gains are limited in comparison to those of younger adults and do not generalize to untrained tasks and contexts. This limited success has been partly attributed to age-related impairments in associative binding of information into coherent episodes. We therefore investigated potential training and transfer effects of process-based associative memory training (i.e., repeated practice). Thirty-nine older adults (Mage= 68.8) underwent 6 weeks of either adaptive associative memory training or item recognition training. Both groups improved performance in item memory, spatial memory (object-context binding) and reasoning. A disproportionate effect of associative memory training was only observed for item memory, whereas no training-related performance changes were observed for associative memory. Self-reported strategies showed no signs of spontaneous development of memory-enhancing associative memory strategies. Hence, the results do not support the hypothesis that process-based associative memory training leads to higher associative memory performance in older adults.
authors.affiliation: Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bellander
authors.affiliation: International Normal Aging and Plasticity Center (INAPIC), University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland; University Research Priority Program "Dynamics of Healthy Aging", University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eschen
authors.affiliation: Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lövdén
authors.affiliation: International Normal Aging and Plasticity Center (INAPIC), University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland; University Research Priority Program "Dynamics of Healthy Aging", University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bäckman
authors.affiliation: Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm UniversityStockholm, Sweden; Otto Hahn Research Group on Associative Memory in Old Age, Max Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentBerlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Brehmer
keywords: associative memory; cognitive training; episodic memory; older adults; transfer