Abstract
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. Likewise, a minority of individuals will manifest an extreme decay of their source memory abilities. The objective of the present study was to identify among 120 potential predictors that significantly contributed to these two extreme source memory outcomes. Spatial source memory was measured in a sample of 519 healthy individuals between 61 and 80 years old. Individuals who performed below the 20th and above the 80th percentiles in the source memory task were defined as individuals whose episodic memory failed and succeeded, respectively. Logistic models identified five and six significant predictors of source memory success and failure in older age, respectively. High source memory performance was mainly predicted by healthy cardiovascular markers and psychological traits, whereas low source memory performance was primarily predicted by consumption habits and by less engagement in mental activities. The models identified relevant biological and life experiences that underlie these unusual source memory outcomes in older age.
Highlights
The fact that several cognitive functions deteriorate with advancing age has prompted interest in investigating possible actions to mitigate such decline
Participants were required to obtain a score ≤ 20 on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (Beck, 1987), a score ≥ 24 on the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) (Folstein et al, 1975), and a score ≥ 26 on the vocabulary subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) (Wechsler, 1981) to assure that they were not suffering from depression, dementia, or intellectual difficulties
The area under the curve (AUC) for the source memory success model was 0.72, SE = 0.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.66 – 0.77, and for the source memory failure model, it was 0.69, SE = 0.03, 95% CI = 0.63 – 0.75
Summary
The fact that several cognitive functions deteriorate with advancing age has prompted interest in investigating possible actions to mitigate such decline. Within this main purpose, the examination of older individuals with preserved cognitive functions is of particular interest to search for predictors of the retention of cognitive status. One study (Habib et al, 2007) found that only 3% from a sample of 1463 participants were classified as high-functioning at the age of 70 years old or older Another difficulty arises from the different criteria used to identify older adults with preserved cognitive abilities. Another difficulty arises from the different criteria used to identify older adults with preserved cognitive abilities. Rowe and Kahn (1987, 1997) suggested the term successful aging to encompass individuals with a low possibility of suffering diseases or disabilities related to diseases, high
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