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Can False Memories Prime Problem Solutions for Healthy Older Adults and Those With Alzheimer’s Disease?

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Recent research has shown that false memories can have a positive consequence on human cognition in both children and young adults. The present experiment investigated whether false memories could have similar positive effects by priming solutions to insight-based problems in healthy older adults and people with Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHOD: Participants were asked to solve compound remote associate task (CRAT) problems, half of which had been preceded by the presentation of Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) lists whose critical lures (CL) were also the solutions to those problems. RESULTS: The results showed that regardless of cognitive ability, when the CL was falsely recognized, CRAT problems were solved more often and reliably faster than problems that were not primed by a DRM list. When the CL was not falsely recognized, CRAT problem solution rates and times were no different from when there was no DRM priming. DISCUSSION: These findings are consistent with predictions from theories of associative activation and demonstrate the importance of automatic spreading activation processes in memory across the life span.

Source: The Journals of Gerontology Series B

DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gby064

Authors: Shazia Akhtar, Mark L Howe, Kedron Hoepstine

Institution: City, University of London

Language: English

Topic: Memory Processes and Influences

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: Economic and Social Research Council