A ten-year longitudinal examination of repetition priming, incidental recall, free recall, and recognition in young and elderly

The effects of age and time on nondeclarative and declarative memory in young and elderly were examined in a 10-year longitudinal study using tests of word-stem priming, incidental recall, free recall, and recognition. The elderly were significantly impaired on all tests, but no reliable longitudinal decrement by the elderly was detected for priming, incidental recall,or recognition. The elderly demonstrated a significant longitudinal decline in declarative memory as assessed by a test of free recall. While nondeclarative memory declines with age, the longitudinal findings are consistent with the view that declarative memory is more susceptible to the effects of aging.