Older adults can use memory for distinctive objects, but not distinctive scenes, to rescue associative memory deficits

ABSTRACT

Associative memory deficits in aging are frequently characterized by false recognition of novel stimulus associations, particularly when stimuli are similar. Introducing distinctive stimuli, therefore, can help guide item differentiation in memory and can further our understanding of how age-related brain changes impact behavior. How older adults use different types of distinctive information to distinguish overlapping events in memory and to avoid false associative recognition is still unknown. To test this, we manipulated the distinctiveness of items from two stimulus categories, scenes and objects, across three conditions: (1) distinct scenes paired with similar objects, (2) similar scenes paired with distinct objects, and (3) similar scenes paired with similar objects. Young and older adults studied scene-object pairs and then made both remember/know judgments toward single items as well as associative memory judgments to old and novel scene-object pairs (“Were these paired together?”). Older adults showed intact single item recognition of scenes and objects, regardless of whether those objects and scenes were similar or distinct. In contrast, relative to younger adults, older adults showed elevated false recognition for scene-object pairs, even when the scenes were distinct. These age-related associative memory deficits, however, disappeared if the pair contained an object that was visually distinct. In line with neural evidence that hippocampal functioning and scene processing decline with age, these results suggest that older adults can rely on memory for distinct objects, but not for distinct scenes, to distinguish between memories with overlapping features.

KEYWORDS:

• Aging
• associative memory
• object memory
• scene memory
• false recognition

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Canadian Natural Sciences Engineering Research Council (Discovery Grants to M.D.B. and A.C.H.L., Accelerator Grant to M.D.B.), the James S. McDonnell Foundation (Scholar Award to M.D.B.), the Canada Research Chairs Program (M.D.B.), and the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation (Early Researcher Award to M.D.B). We thank Sarah Wong and Rena Seeger for their assistance with data collection and Katherine Duncan for valuable discussions and feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation [Scholar Award]; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada [Accelerator Grant,Discovery Grant]; Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation [Early Researcher Award]; Canada Research Chairs Program