Abstract

This study aimed at exploring the effects of aging on the multiple components of the auditory-verbal short-term memory (STM). Participants of 45–54, 55–64, 65–74 and 75–84 years of age were presented STM tasks assessing short-term retention of order and item information, and of phonological and lexical-semantic information separately. Because older participants often present reduced hearing levels, we sought to control for an effect of hearing status on performance on STM tasks. Participants’ hearing thresholds were measured with a pure-tone audiometer. The results showed age-related effects on all STM components. However, after hearing status was controlled for in analyses of covariance, the age-related differences became non-significant for all STM processes. The fact that age-related hearing loss may in large part explain decreases in performance on STM tasks with aging is discussed.

Highlights

  • The question of whether there is a decline in auditory-verbal short-term memory (STM) in older adults has received considerable attention (e.g., Belleville, Peretz, & Malenfant, 1996; Bopp & Verhaeghen, 2003; Fisk & Warr, 1996; Grégoire & Van der Linden, 1997; Hester, Kinsella, & Ong, 2004; Kaulser, 1994; Peters et al, 2007)

  • When an age effect was found, because of the differing hearing status of the 4 age groups, we further aimed to control whether these agerelated differences remained significant after performing analyses of covariance (ANCOVAS) on the results from the different STM tasks, using hearing thresholds as covariate, as in the study of Cervera et al (2009)

  • Age-related effects on STM have been generally studied using classical serial recall tasks (e.g., Belleville et al, 1996; Bopp & Verhaeghen, 2003; Fisk & Warr, 1996; Grégoire & Van der Linden, 1997; Hester et al, 2004; Kaulser, 1994; Peters et al, 2007), whereas more recent conceptions of verbal STM present it as a multicomponent system, in which each process can be selectively assessed and impaired

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Summary

Introduction

The question of whether there is a decline in auditory-verbal short-term memory (STM) in older adults has received considerable attention (e.g., Belleville, Peretz, & Malenfant, 1996; Bopp & Verhaeghen, 2003; Fisk & Warr, 1996; Grégoire & Van der Linden, 1997; Hester, Kinsella, & Ong, 2004; Kaulser, 1994; Peters et al, 2007) In these studies, STM has generally been assessed using span tasks, following the phonological loop model of Corresponding author: Clémence Verhaegen, PhD. Some studies have found no age-related decline on serial recall tasks with words or digits (e.g., Belleville et al, 1996; Fisk & Warr, 1996; Peters et al, 2007) and Verhaegen and Poncelet: Age effects on short-term memory components the question of whether STM declines in the elderly is still a matter of debate

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