Age-Related Effects in Working Memory Recognition Modulated by Retroactive Interference

Solesio-Jofre, Elena; Lorenzo-López, Laura; Gutiérrez, Ricardo; López-Frutos, José María; Ruíz-Vargas, José María; Maestú, Fernando

doi:10.1093/gerona/glr199

Cited by 27 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 65 publications

(68 reference statements)

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“…Cummins and Finnigan (2007) found altered frontal/ACC theta power in older adults and Pardo et al (2007) showed a decrease of glucose uptake with aging in the ACC, which correlated with a decline in cognitive performance. Thus, the fact that older participants show less theta power upon cue presentation indicates they do not efficiently engage the brain mechanism in charge of detecting and reacting to interference, which is in line with studies showing this population is more susceptible to interference (Friedman and Castel, 2013;Solesio-Jofre et al, 2012;Tays et al, 2008). Altered ACC function, along with inefficient connection between fronto-parietal regions, within a neural network relevant to perform a memory task (as shown in Pinal,…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Theta oscillations show impaired interference detection in the elderly during selective memory retrieval

Ferreira

Maraver

Hanslmayr

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Seemingly effortless tasks, such as recognizing faces and retrieving names, become significantly harder as people get older. These age-related difficulties may be partially due to the concurrent activation of related competitors. However, it remains unclear whether older adults struggle with detecting an early interference signal or with suppressing irrelevant competitors once competition is detected. To investigate this question, we used the retrieval practice paradigm, shown to elicit interference, while recording electrophysiological activity in young and older adults. In two experiments, young participants showed the typical Retrieval Induced Forgetting (RIF) effect whereas the elderly did not. Neurally, young adults were more capable to detect interference than the older, as evidenced by an increase in midfrontal theta power (~4-8Hz). This efficient interference detection allowed young adults to recruit inhibitory mechanisms that overcome competition, as traced by a theta power reduction across retrieval cycles. No such reduction was found for the elderly, indicating that the lack of an early interference detection signal renders older adults unable to recruit memory selection mechanisms, eliminating RIF.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Theta oscillations show impaired interference detection in the elderly during selective memory retrieval

Ferreira

Maraver

Hanslmayr

et al. 2018

Preprint

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“…Much of that appears to be due to declining inhibitory control making older adults more vulnerable to proactive and retroactive interference (Hedden & Park 2001, Solesio-Jofre et al 2012) and to distraction (Rutman et al 2010, Zanto & Gazzaley 2009). Remember that young children, too, are disproportionately challenged by inhibition compared to young adults (Davidson et al 2006).…”

Section: Working Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Executive Functions

Diamond

2013

Annu. Rev. Psychol.

9,228

180

8,359

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Executive functions (EFs) make possible mentally playing with ideas; taking the time to think before acting; meeting novel, unanticipated challenges; resisting temptations; and staying focused. Core EFs are inhibition [response inhibition (self-control—resisting temptations and resisting acting impulsively) and interference control (selective attention and cognitive inhibition)], working memory, and cognitive flexibility (including creatively thinking “outside the box,” seeing anything from different perspectives, and quickly and flexibly adapting to changed circumstances). The developmental progression and representative measures of each are discussed. Controversies are addressed (e.g., the relation between EFs and fluid intelligence, self-regulation, executive attention, and effortful control, and the relation between working memory and inhibition and attention). The importance of social, emotional, and physical health for cognitive health is discussed because stress, lack of sleep, loneliness, or lack of exercise each impair EFs. That EFs are trainable and can be improved with practice is addressed, including diverse methods tried thus far.

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“…Moreover, in a verbal WM task, Sakai et al (2002a) showed that interruptions in the form of a secondary arithmetic task impaired the ability to maintain task-relevant information in WM and therefore lead to increased error rates in memory trials in contrast to a non-interfering arithmetic task. Additionally, also MEG studies have shown that particularly interruptions lead to disruptive effects regarding encoding (García-Pacios et al, 2013), maintenance (Solesio-Jofre et al, 2011) and the retrieval of task-relevant information of the primary task (Solesio-Jofre et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential Effects of Interruptions and Distractions on Working Memory Processes in an ERP Study

Zickerick

Thönes

Kobald

et al. 2020

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Interruptions (interfering stimuli to respond to) and distractions (interfering stimuli to be ignored) have been shown to negatively impact performance, particularly in tasks requiring working memory (WM). This study investigated how these two types of external interference affect task performance and attentional and WM processes as indexed by specific event-related potentials (ERPs) of the EEG. A Continuous Number Task (CNT) was applied, in which participants had to either decide whether the current number (condition without WM load) or the sum of the current and the preceding number (condition with WM load) was odd or even while responding to interlaced single letters (interruptions) or ignoring them (distractions). Contrary to previous research, we did not find external interference to affect performance under WM load. Unexpectedly, our results rather show that performance was significantly improved in trials after distractions compared to before. This effect was reflected particularly in a significantly increased P3 mean amplitude indicating enhanced attentional reallocation to task-relevant stimuli. Interestingly, this P3 effect appeared independent of WM load and also following interruptions. This underpins the account of P3 amplitudes being modulated by the interval between two task-relevant stimuli rather than by overall task-difficulty. Moreover, a pronounced fronto-central and posterior slow wave following interference suggest more control resources to maintain task-relevant stimuli in WM independent of the preceding interfering stimulus. Our results thus suggest that the type and foreknowledge of external interference may modulate the amount of interference and may also facilitate resource preparation under WM load.

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Age-Related Effects in Working Memory Recognition Modulated by Retroactive Interference

Cited by 27 publications

References 65 publications

Theta oscillations show impaired interference detection in the elderly during selective memory retrieval

Theta oscillations show impaired interference detection in the elderly during selective memory retrieval

Executive Functions

Differential Effects of Interruptions and Distractions on Working Memory Processes in an ERP Study

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