Contextual memory and encoding strategies in young and older adults with and without depressive symptoms

Abstract

Objectives: This study examines the role of depressive symptoms associated with age on contextual memory and how this association could impair the use of strategic instructions during encoding.

Method: Young and older controls and older adults with depressive symptoms performed memory recognition tests for item and context.

Results: Memory results indicated that mild depressive symptoms did not aggravate the age-related contextual memory pattern, but interfered with the magnitude of the memory enhancement provided by specific encoding instructions when compared with young adults. These between-group differences in the use of memory strategies were eliminated with the inclusion of the performance on Wisconsin Card Sorting Test as a covariate.

Conclusion: Mild depressive symptoms were associated with an impaired ability to use incidental memory strategies at encoding, suggesting the need for further investigation on the effects of non-clinical depressive symptomatology on cognitive decline in aging.

Keywords:

• aging
• memory
• depression

Acknowledgements

Financial support fort this study was provided by FAPERGS grant (474663/2004-3) to Dr Elke Bromberg. J.B. Balardin is recipient of CAPES-M Ministry of Education and Culture fellowships, G. Vedana of PUCRS/BIC fellowship and D. Borba of FAPERGS-IC fellowship.