Proactive and retroactive interference in young adults, healthy older adults, and older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

This study investigated memory interference in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and normal aging. Participants were 27 young adults, 44 healthy older adults, and 15 older adults with aMCI. Memory interference was examined on the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) and on a modified AB-AC paradigm. Despite significant differences in memory performance on the CVLT, interference measures on this test did not distinguish individuals with aMCI and healthy older adults. The AB-AC task involved first learning a list (AB list) of 12 semantically related word pairs (e.g., knee-bone). Twenty minutes later, a second list (AC list) was learned in which the same stimulus words were paired with new response words (e.g., knee-bend). Both lists were repeated until 100% accurate recall was achieved. Finally, participants recalled the first (AB) list. Proactive interference (PI) was greater among older than younger adults, and greater still among individuals with aMCI, but the older and aMCI groups showed similar levels of retroactive interference. This study suggests that PI contributes to the memory deficits seen in aMCI and that tests sensitive to PI may assist in the early identification of aMCI. Memory interventions aimed at alleviating PI may improve memory functioning in individuals with aMCI. (JINS, 2009, 15, 83-93.).

A Novel Cognitive Stress Test for the Detection of Preclinical Alzheimer Disease: Discriminative Properties and Relation to Amyloid Load

“…Susceptibility to proactive interference is a feature of MCI patients and is a risk factor for progression to AD. 16-18 There have also been recent findings relating PSI to amyloid load 5 . However, the current findings suggest that it may not merely be proactive interference but the ability to recover from proactive interference effects that may be one of the earliest indicators of cognitive deficits in those at risk for AD.…”

Age differences in suggestibility to contradictions of demonstrated knowledge: the influence of prior knowledge

“…Following a lifetime of learning, older adults' knowledge is likely to be more accessible in memory than recent memories of specific events. Indeed, older adults are generally more vulnerable to proactive interference than are younger adults (Ebert & Anderson, 2009;Hess, McGee, Woodburn, & Bolstad, 1998;Loewenstein, Acevedo, Agron, & Duara, 2007). Thus, regardless of episodic memory failures, I argue that intact prior knowledge likely contributes to older adults' reduced suggestibility to misinformation that contradicts general knowledge, and the present work focuses on investigating that role.…”

Understanding How Prior Knowledge Influences Memory in Older Adults

“…Whether the difficulty is due to prior knowledge blocking access to recent memories or a failure to inhibit prior knowledge, the result is the same: Older adults end up relying on prior knowledge even if more recent experiences contradict that knowledge. This bias can result in benefits (e.g., Kim, Hasher, & Zacks, 2007; see also Rowe, Valderrama, Hasher, & Lenartowicz, 2006) or in costs (e.g., Ebert & Anderson, 2009). …”