Visual learning and memory as functions of age

Abstract

Age-related changes have been reported for a range of perceptual and cognitive functions. We investigated visual acuity and vernier acuity, as well as visual memory and learning, in four age groups, each comprising 10 subjects and ranging from adolescence to an age group up to 66 years. The groups were matched on general abilities for visuospatial information processing. Visual acuity decreased slightly with increasing age. The reproduction of more complex geometrical material which exceeded short-term memory capacities was significantly impaired in the oldest group relative to young adults. However, vernier acuity thresholds and improvement of thresholds with training did not differ in the four groups. Short-term retention of visual stimuli across 1 or 4 sec was also comparable in the different age groups. Those visual abilities that are limited primarily by cortical, not retinal, factors remained relatively unchanged in our observers despite age-related changes in the eye. Visual memory functions which tap working and long-term memory abilities, on the other hand, showed a significant age-associated decline during adulthood.