Item and Associative Memory Decline in Healthy Aging

This chapter reviews the behavioral and neuroimaging literature examining age differences in item and associative memory. Furthermore, when possible the review breaks down differences at the encoding and the retrieval phases of memory. With respect to behavioral findings, age-related differences in memory performance are discussed in terms of encoding support, resource allocation, and testing format. Age-related benefits from contextual support and semantic processing strategies are also outlined. With respect to the neuroimaging findings, the review focuses on age-related differences in activation and recruitment of the medial temporal lobe and the prefrontal cortex. When possible, these differences are discussed in the context of methods that may mitigate age deficits in neural recruitment. Differences in neural processes for associative memory are described in terms of decreased frontal activation and the impact of various encoding strategies on these neural activations. We conclude with future directions that would support a more nuanced understanding of the described age differences.