Abstract
In the present study, we investigated the effects of selective attention at encoding on conceptual object priming (Experiment 1) and old–new recognition memory (Experiment 2) tasks in young and older adults. The procedures of both experiments included encoding and memory test phases separated by a short delay. At encoding, the picture outlines of two familiar objects, one in blue and the other in green, were presented to the left and to the right of fixation. In Experiment 1, participants were instructed to attend to the picture outline of a certain color and to classify the object as natural or artificial. After a short delay, participants performed a natural/artificial speeded conceptual classification task with repeated attended, repeated unattended, and new pictures. In Experiment 2, participants at encoding memorized the attended pictures and classify them as natural or artificial. After the encoding phase, they performed an old–new recognition memory task. Consistent with previous findings with perceptual priming tasks, we found that conceptual object priming, like explicit memory, required attention at encoding. Significant priming was obtained in both age groups, but only for those pictures that were attended at encoding. Although older adults were slower than young adults, both groups showed facilitation for attended pictures. In line with previous studies, young adults had better recognition memory than older adults.
Highlights
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of aging and selective attention at encoding on two types of long-term memory: repetition priming as a measure of implicit memory, assessed by showing priming effects in a speeded conceptual classification task (Experiment 1), and explicit memory, assessed by an old–new recognition task (Experiment 2)
The procedures of both experiments included an encoding phase and a memory test phase, separated by 3 min performing a distraction task. Both experiments were administered during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning
To investigate whether the young and older adults were accurate in the classification task at encoding, we calculated the mean number of errors of the older adults and the young adults
Summary
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of aging and selective attention at encoding on two types of long-term memory: repetition priming as a measure of implicit memory, assessed by showing priming effects in a speeded conceptual classification task (Experiment 1), and explicit (episodic) memory, assessed by an old–new recognition task (Experiment 2). The procedures of both experiments included an encoding phase and a memory test phase, separated by 3 min performing a distraction task. Numerous studies have shown that implicit memory is spared in older adults (e.g., Mitchell, 1989; Mitchell and Bruss, 2003; Ballesteros and Reales, 2004; Wiggs et al, 2006; Ballesteros et al, 2007, 2009; for reviews see Fleischman and Gabrieli, 1998; Fleischman, 2007), some studies have reported age differences in priming (e.g., La Voie and Light, 1994; Keane et al, 2004; Wiggs et al, 2006; Gordon et al, 2013; Word et al, 2013)
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