Predictors of Working Memory Maintenance and Decline in Older Adults.

The aging process is associated with the gradual decline of several cognitive functions, and working memory is particularly affected. Although the majority of older adults experience a deterioration of their working memory, some individuals maintain their working memory in older age, and some suffer an extreme deterioration of their working memory. The purpose of the present study was to identify, among a total of 120 potential predictors, those that significantly contributed to these two extreme outcomes in working memory.

Predictors of Source Memory Success and Failure in Older Adults.

Source memory decline has been identified as one of the types of memory most seriously affected during older age. It refers to our capacity to recollect the contextual information in which our experiences take place. Although most elderly adults will be affected by progressive source memory decline, a subset of individuals will not follow this average pattern; instead, their source memory capabilities will remain functional.