Age deficits in associative memory are not alleviated by multisensory paradigms

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Badham, S ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6890-102X, Atkin, C ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5086-1173, Stacey, JE ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4035-712X, Henshaw, H, Allen, HA and Roberts, KL ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8735-2249, 2024. Age deficits in associative memory are not alleviated by multisensory paradigms. Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. ISSN 1079-5014 (Forthcoming)

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Abstract

Age deficits in memory are widespread, this impacts individuals at a personal level, and investigating memory has been a key focus in cognitive ageing research. Age deficits occur in memory for an episode, where information from the environment is integrated through the senses into an episodic event via associative memory. Associating items in memory has been shown to be particularly difficult for older adults but can often be alleviated by providing support from the external environment. The current investigation explored the potential for increased sensory input (multimodal stimuli) to alleviate age deficits in associative memory. Here, we present compelling evidence, supported by Bayesian analysis, for a null age-by-modality interaction. Across three pre-registered studies, young and older adults (n = 860) completed associative memory tasks either in single modalities or in multimodal formats. Study 1 used either visual text (unimodal) or video introductions (multimodal) to test memory for name-face associations. Studies 2 and 3 tested memory for paired associates. Study 2 used unimodal visual presentation or cross modal visual-auditory word pairs in a cued recall paradigm. Study 3 presented word pairs as visual only, auditory only or audiovisual and tested memory separately for items (individual words) or associations (word pairings). Typical age deficits in associative memory emerged, but these were not alleviated by multimodal presentation. The lack of multimodal support for associative memory indicates that perceptual manipulations are less effective than other forms of environmental support at alleviating age deficits in associative memory.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
Creators:	Badham, S., Atkin, C., Stacey, J.E., Henshaw, H., Allen, H.A. and Roberts, K.L.
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Date:	20 March 2024
ISSN:	1079-5014
Identifiers:	Number Type 1877493 Other
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	28 Mar 2024 17:06
Last Modified:	28 Mar 2024 17:06
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/51183