Abstract
A sample of 558 women and 1,163 men 17 to 102 years old, screened for neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease, was administered tests of immediate visual memory (Benton Visual Retention Test) and crystallized intelligence (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Vocabulary subtest) from 1 to 5 times over 27.7 years. Cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence led to the conclusion that the 65-74-year decade was a watershed for decremental changes in immediate visual memory and verbal intelligence. Age accounted for considerably less variance in vocabulary than in immediate memory. The proportion of individuals whose longitudinal trajectories were contrary to group trends decreased substantially with increased age; observed age changes remained when analyses were restricted to individuals who had perfect or near-perfect mental status scores. Selected neuronal loss and slower reproduction times were considered as possible causes.
Highlights
A sample of 558 women and 1,163 men 17 to 102 years old, screened for neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease, was administered tests of immediate visual memory (Benton Visual Retention Test) and crystallized intelligence (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Vocabulary subtest) from 1 to 5 times over 27.7 years
Cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence led to the conclusion that the 65-74-year decade was a watershed for decremental changes in immediate visual memory and verbal intelligence
Little correlation was observed between tenure and initial performance on either test; for men, those who dropped out made 0.3 more Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT) errors than men who remained in the study
Summary
A sample of 558 women and 1,163 men 17 to 102 years old, screened for neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease, was administered tests of immediate visual memory (Benton Visual Retention Test) and crystallized intelligence (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Vocabulary subtest) from 1 to 5 times over 27.7 years. Cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence led to the conclusion that the 65-74-year decade was a watershed for decremental changes in immediate visual memory and verbal intelligence. Age accounted for considerably less variance in vocabulary than in immediate memory. The present study attempted to describe the course of normal aging in the areas of verbal intelligence and immediate visual memory. Immediate memory for visual patterns might be expected to be well insulated from the detrimental influences of aging. The Visual Reproduction subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale (Wechsler, 1945) re-. Jeffery Metter of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) for providing diagnostic information on BLSA participants
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