The Effect of Aging on Memory for Recent and Remote Egocentric and Allocentric Information

ABSTRACT

Background: The present study explores recent and well-consolidated spatial memory within the egocentric and allocentric frames of reference in young and elderly people.

Methods: The research included young and old participants, within the range of normality. All the participants were tested on four spatial tasks requiring allocentric and egocentric judgments, based on recent as well as remote spatial information, using a Multivariate Regression Analysis.

Results: An age effect on both egocentric and allocentric tasks was present in recently learned spatial information. The age effect was not present in tasks regarding well-consolidated spatial information. Finally, sex influenced the performance in allocentric tasks regarding both recent and well-consolidated memory.

Conclusion: These data were discussed according to the Multiple Trace Theory, supporting the idea that the magnitude of difference between egocentric and allocentric judgments in aging is somewhat attributable to the characteristic of spatial tasks. In general, a lower difference between the performance of young and elderly participants is shown in tasks based on well-consolidated information when compared with tasks based on episodic information. Well-consolidated information seemed to be better preserved in memory and less prone to the impairment.

Acknowledgments

This study is part of the PhD Thesis of the first author, under the supervision of the last author. The second author was supported by the project “Epidemiology of Topographical Disorientation and Mild Cognitive Impairment in a South Italian elderly population” – Action Co-founded by Cohesion and Development Fund 2007–2013 – APQ Research Puglia Region “Regional programme supporting smart specialization and social and environmental sustainability – FutureInResearch” (AOC, Grant Code CEY4SQ4), and the last author was supported by the project “An automatic system of verbal instructions to promote activities of daily living in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Intervention effectiveness and manipulation of linguistic parameters” (AB, Fondi Ateneo, Es. Fin. 2014). The authors thank dr. Valentina Mastrogiacomo and dr. Claudio Biancardi who helped in collecting data.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Cohesion and Development Fund 2007–2013 – APQ Research Puglia Region [CEY4SQ4].