Work

Are There Age Differences in the Executive Component of Working Memory? Evidence from Domain-General Interference Effects

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: Young and older adults performed verbal and spatial storage-only and storage-plus-processing working memory tasks while performing a secondary finger tapping task, and the effects on both the maximum capacity (measured as the longest series correct) and the reliability (measured as the proportion of items correct) of working memory were assessed. Tapping tended to produce greater disruption of working memory tasks that place greater demands on executive processes (i.e., storage-plus-processing tasks compared to storage-only span tasks). Moreover, tapping produced domain-general interference, disrupting both verbal and spatial working memory, providing further support for the idea that tapping interferes with the executive component of the working memory system, rather than domain-specific maintenance processes. Nevertheless, tapping generally produced equivalent interference effects in young and older adults. Taken together, these findings are inconsistent with the hypothesis that age-related declines in working memory are primarily attributable to a deficit in the executive component.

Source: Aging Neuropsychology and Cognition

DOI: 10.1080/13825580902825238

Authors: Nathan S. Rose, Joel Myerson, Mitchell S. Sommers, Sandra Hale

Institution: Washington University in St. Louis

Language: English

Topic: Cognitive Abilities and Testing

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Aging

Awards: Listening Comprehension across the Adult Life Span, Aging and Development