Early-life education may help bolster declarative memory in old age,especially for women |
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| Authors: | Jana Reifegerste João Veríssimo Michael D. Rugg Mariel Y. Pullman Laura Babcock Dana A. Glei |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University , Washington, DC, USA;2. Westf?lische Wilhelms-Universit?t Münster, Institute for Psychology , Münster, Germany;3. Potsdam Research Institute for Multilingualism, University of Potsdam , Potsdam, Germany jana.reifegerste@gmail.com!["ORCID]("//:0" "\"ORCID") https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0618-5881;5. Potsdam Research Institute for Multilingualism, University of Potsdam , Potsdam, Germany https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1264-3017;6. Center for Vital Longevity and School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas , TX, USA;7. School of Psychology, University of East Anglia , Norwich, UK;8. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai , New York, USA;9. Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm, Sweden;10. Center for Population and Health, Georgetown University , Washington, DC, USA |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACT Although declarative memory declines with age, sex and education might moderate these weaknesses. We investigated effects of sex and education on nonverbal declarative (recognition) memory in 704 older adults (aged 58–98, 0–17 years of education). Items were drawings of real and made-up objects. Age negatively impacted declarative memory, though this age effect was moderated by sex and object-type: it was steeper for males than females, but only for real objects. Education was positively associated with memory, but also interacted with sex and object-type: education benefited women more than men (countering the age effects, especially for women), and remembering real more than made-up objects. The findings suggest that nonverbal memory in older adults is associated negatively with age but positively with education; both effects are modulated by sex, and by whether learning relates to preexisting or new information. The study suggests downstream benefits from education, especially for girls. |
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| Keywords: | Aging declarative memory education episodic memory nonverbal memory sex differences |
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!["ORCID]({"type":"image","src":"/templates/jsp/images/orcid.png"} "\"ORCID")
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0618-5881;5. Potsdam Research Institute for Multilingualism, University of Potsdam , Potsdam, Germany