The Current Orientation Test: A Study of Speed and Consistency of Retrieval of Recent Everyday Memories by Old and Young Subjects

Abstract

This paper describes a new method for assessing the effect of normal ageing on degree of awareness of the current temporal context in everyday life. The Current Orientation Test (COT) investigates ability to describe the most recent occurrence of 15 common everyday events and to rank them in temporal sequence. Fourteen subjects between 18 and 30 years of age were compared with 17 older subjects (60—78 years). The older group was slower in producing descriptions of these events, took longer to rank them in sequence, and showed much less consistency of ranking on a re-test. A specific relationship of the COT to everyday episodic memory was suggested by significant correlations with subjects' relatives ratings of forgetfulness and with a test of verbal episodic memory (Story Recall), in contrast to no correlation with a test involving semantic memory (Adult Silent Reading Test). The COT shows promise as a method for assessing memory decline or disorder, and may provide insights into the normal cognitive processes involved in the up-dating of current awareness.