Age-related effects on perceptual and semantic encoding in memory

M.C.C. KUO, K.P.Y. LIU, K.H. TING, Che Hin Chetwyn CHAN

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study examined the age-related subsequent memory effect (SME) in perceptual and semantic encoding using event-related potentials (ERPs). Seventeen younger adults and 17 older adults studied a series of Chinese characters either perceptually (by inspecting orthographic components) or semantically (by determining whether the depicted object makes sounds). The two tasks had similar levels of difficulty. The participants made studied or unstudied judgments during the recognition phase. Younger adults performed better in both conditions, with significant SMEs detected in the time windows of P2, N3, P550, and late positive component (LPC). In the older group, SMEs were observed in the P2 and N3 latencies in both conditions but were only detected in the P550 in the semantic condition. Between-group analyses showed larger frontal and central SMEs in the younger sample in the LPC latency regardless of encoding type. Aging effect appears to be stronger on influencing perceptual than semantic encoding processes. The effects seem to be associated with a decline in updating and maintaining representations during perceptual encoding. The age-related decline in the encoding function may be due in part to changes in frontal lobe function. Copyright © 2013 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)95-106
JournalNeuroscience
Volume261
Early online dateDec 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2014

Citation

Kuo, M. C. C., Liu, K. P. Y., Ting, K. H., & Chan, C. C. H. (2014). Age-related effects on perceptual and semantic encoding in memory. Neuroscience, 261, 95-106. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.12.036

Keywords

  • Event-related potentials
  • Subsequent memory effect
  • Aging
  • Perceptual encoding processing
  • Semantic processing

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