Processing speed and memory in aging and dementia

Martin Sliwinski, Herman Buschke

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

53 Scopus citations

Abstract

We examined the role of processing speed (PS) as a mediator of age- related and dementia-related differences in cried recall and text memory. Consistent with previous research, statistical control of PS significantly attenuated or eliminated age differences on each of the memory measures. However, age-related decline in the ability to benefit from conditions of increased encoding specificity was not mediated by PS. In contrast to the results for age effects, statistical control of PS did not significantly attenuate dementia-related memory differences, suggesting that processing speed is not an important dementia-related memory impairment. The implications of these findings for interpreting residual age effects and the possible influence of preclinical dementia on studies of normal aging are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)P308-P318
JournalJournals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
Volume52
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 1997

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health(social science)
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies

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