6. Basic Cognitive Function

Question 1

what are the key assumptions of the information processing model?

Answer 1

1. people are active participants in information processing
2. both quantitative and qualitative aspects of performance can be examined
3. information is processed through a series of processes

Question 2

what is the movement of information in the information processing model?

Answer 2

sensory memory -> working memory (interacts with long term memory) -> response to stimuli

Question 3

how does processing speed change as we age?

Answer 3

• as tasks become more difficult, older adults take much longer to react
• old and young people respond at a similar rate for easy tasks
• most studies suggest older adults become less efficient in their use of attentional processes

Question 4

what is the general slowing hypothesis?

Answer 4

increase in reaction time = general decline of information processing speed

Question 5

what is the age-complexity hypothesis?

Answer 5

• more complex tasks → older adults perform progressively more poorly
  
  • because processing resources are stretched more and more to their limit

Question 6

what is the attentional resource theory?

Answer 6

• older adults have fewer attentional resources than younger adults
  
  • if there are multiple things to pay attention to, older adults react more slowly
• not a lot of evidence to support this idea

Question 7

what is the inhibitory deficit hypothesis? how do older people compensate for this?

Answer 7

• suggests that older adults have more difficulties in inhibiting the processing of irrelevant information
• have a hard time blocking out things we don’t need to pay attention to
• older adults perform worse on the stroop test as they are not able to ignore what the word says, and just look at the ink
• but, older adults may even perform better than young adults on inhibitory tasks by activating their frontal lobes in a compensatory manner
• roles of experience and training may mitigate some of these effects to preserve important areas of functioning

Question 8

what is divided attention and how is it different in older adults? how was this studied?

Answer 8

• suggests that older adults have difficulties multitasking or switching tasks that they should be doing
• driving simulator test with two tests; tracking (keeping care straight), and counting dots that show up on the screen
• all three groups can perform at 100% in tracking when there are no dots
• when dots appear and told to ignore, not count, the older adults start to perform worse on tracking (inhibitory deficit)
• when told to count dots, older adults have a much harder time tracking
  
  • shows inability to multitask

Question 9

how do older and younger adults compare in visual search tasks?

Answer 9

• require that observer locate a specific target among a set of distractors
• in simple visual search tasks, young and old people perform similarly
• there are big differences in difficulties in older and younger people in the conjunctive search

Question 10

how does context and experience relate to visual searches when driving, for older adults?

Answer 10

• what we know about an object determines where we look for it in an image
  
  • if asked to look for a plane, we look at the sky, if asked to look for a car, we look at the ground
• younger adults faster to respond than older adults
• constrained targets (knowing where an object might be) easier to find than unconstrained
• contextual information helps older more than younger adults
• important in driving because older adults need constrains more, need to know where to look, need to be familiar with the area

Question 11

what is a summary of processing speed and attention for older vs. younger adults?

Answer 11

older adults tend to have…
- slower reaction times
- greater difficulties with inhibiting processing of irrelevant information
- greater difficulties multitasking (dividing attention)
- greater difficulties with serial visual searches

Question 12

what are some common trends in car crashes and fatalities for different age groups?

Answer 12

• people aged 16-17 have the most car crashes and the most injuries
  
  • older people drive more cautiously, younger people can be reckless
• older people have the most fatal crashes
  
  • could be because they have a harder time recovering from crashes

Question 13

what does the information processing model tell us about attention and memory?

Answer 13

• we need to be paying attention in order for information to go from sensory memory to working/short term memory
• in short term/working memory, we either work with the info, rehearse it, or it gets forgotten
• sufficient rehearsal and practice causes info to her consolidated into long term memory

Question 14

what is short term memory?

Answer 14

• a limited capacity store that can maintain unrehearsed information for up to about 20 seconds
• capacity is 7 + or - 2 pieces of information
• rehearsal - process of repetitively verbalizing or thinking about the information
• maintenance rehearsal - repeating the information
• elaborative rehearsal - link the info to existing knowledge

Question 15

what is working memory?

Answer 15

• a system that temporarily maintains and stores information by providing an interface between perception, memory, and action
• keeps information temporarily available and active in consciousness
• use your working memory when you are trying to learn new information
• for the purpose of processing information
• includes the central executive, that interacts with the phonological loop, episodic buffer, and visuospatial sketch pad

Question 16

what is the default network?

Answer 16

• a circuit in the brain that is active when the brain is at rest while processing internal stimuli
  
  • includes the hippocampus, parts of the prefrontal cortex, the parietal lobe, the temporal lobe, and part of the cingulate cortex
  • during tasks such as those involved in working memory, the default network becomes deactivated and other areas become activated

Question 17

how do changes in the default mode network affect working memory?

Answer 17

• age‐related changes in the ability to deactivate the default network may contribute in part to poorer working memory performance in older adults
  
  • instead of focusing on the information they need to be remembering, they use their cognitive resources on inwardly oriented stimuli

Question 18

what is a phonological loop?

Answer 18

• allows for recitation of information
• similar to short term memory
• usually used for auditory information

Question 19

what is a visuospatial sketch pad?

Answer 19

• allows us to temporarily hold and manipulate visual images
• bring information/images in from long term memory

Question 20

what is the episodic buffer?

Answer 20

• interface between working and long term memory
• temporarily limited capacity store for integration of information from other modules
• helps with binding - information about an object is in different parts of the brain, needs to be bound when recalled

Question 21

what is central executive in working memory?

Answer 21

• coordinates the actions of the other modules
• controls, focuses, divides attention

Question 22

how do older adults perform on N-back tests compared to younger adults?

Answer 22

• at 1n, the gap between older and younger adults in very small
• as n increases, older adults have more difficulty with the task

Question 23

what are the different ways we can present images in the visuospatial test?

Answer 23

• using 5 apples, the presentation can either be:
  1. simultaneously (visual), or
  2. sequentially (spatial)

Question 24

how do older adults perform on a visuospatial memory test compared to younger adults?

Answer 24

• older adults performed worse sequential vs simultaneous baseline and maintenance
• this tells us that there are STRONGER age effects on spatial than visual working memory

Question 25

how do verbal vs. visual processing speeds change as tasks get harder for older and younger adults?

Answer 25

- as verbal tasks get harder, the difference between older and younger adults’ performance only increases slightly - as visual processing tasks get harder, the difference between older and younger adults’ performance increases significantly

Question 26

what is long term memory?

Answer 26

- a relatively enduring store of information - much larger capacity than short term memory - much longer retention than short term memory

Question 27

what is explicit memory? what are the different types?

Answer 27

- **explicit (declarative)** - involves intentional recollection of factual information or previous experiences - **episodic memory** - chronological, temporally dated, recollections of (personal) experiences - often tested with recall or recognition - includes autobiographical memories - **semantic memory** - general knowledge not (or no longer) tied to the time when the information was learning

Question 28

how does episodic memory of recall of words change as we get older?

Answer 28

on tests of recall of words, older adults… - omit more information - include more intrusions (words from previous lists asked to remember) - repeat more previously recalled information

Question 29

how does episodic memory of recall of positive and negative images/words change as we get older?

Answer 29

on tests of recall of images, older adults… - recall positive images more than neutral and negative images - recall the least amount of images overall on tests of recognition of words, older adults… - recognize positive, negative, and neutral words equally correctly - younger adults recognize negative images the best - they recall positive images more, but recognize all valences equally

Question 30

how do we test autobiographical memory? what age do the most proportion of memories come from?

Answer 30

- autobiographical memories are memories of our life that we were present for - testing by comparing independent records and recall of memory - for older people and young people, the greatest proportion of memories come from mid teens to 30s

Question 31

what are flashbulb memories?

Answer 31

the recall of important and distinctive events that stand out from other memories of past events

Question 32

what is scaffolding theory?

Answer 32

older adults are able to recruit alternate neural circuits as needed by task demands to make up for losses suffered elsewhere in the brain

Question 33

what is remote memory? how is it affected by age?

Answer 33

- involves recall of information from the distant past - older people remember recent events better than those of the distant past

Question 34

what is source memory? how do older adults differ in this?

Answer 34

- recall of where or how an individual acquires information - older adults seem to have greater difficulty on source memory tasks when they must judge where they saw an item on a previous occasion - age differences in source memory may be due to the tendency for older adults to form more global memories (“the gist”) - leaves them open to false memories about some of the details

Question 35

what are the age related changes in semantic memory?

Answer 35

in general, there are few-age related deficits in semantic memory - retrieval does not impact working memory - retrieval is not cue dependent (unlike episodic) - difficulties with retrieval of infrequently used information - increased frequency of tip-of-the-tongue (feeling of knowing)

Question 36

what is implicit memory? how does it change with age?

Answer 36

- involves retrieval of information without conscious or intentional recollection - information is also often not consciously or intentionally learned - **not impacted by age**

Question 37

what are the different types of implicit memory?

Answer 37

- **procedural memory** - memories of how to execute specific actions, skills, and/or operations (muscle memory) - **priming memory** - the ability to identify a stimulus more easily/quickly or a change in behaviour due to previous exposure to similar stimuli - **conditioning** - operant and classical conditioning, associating stimuli with punishment/reward - **habituation** - getting rid of information that is not important - like getting used to the sound of a clock ticking

Question 38

what is prospective memory?

Answer 38

- involves remembering to remember something (an intention) in the future, such as an action or event - prospective memory declines with age

Question 39

what is the process of remembering for prospective memory?

Answer 39

1. we form an intention 2. we monitor for an event or time cue 3. we detect the cue and retrieve the intention 4. intention recall 5. intention execution

Question 40

what aspects of prospective memory decline with age?

Answer 40

- older people have harder time monitoring for time cues - no difference between young and old people for monitoring for event cues

Question 41

how do older and younger people differ in remembering and executing intentions in prospective memory?

Answer 41

- no age differences for errors of omission -> both old and young were able to recall and act on intentions - more older adults made errors of commission - meaning they acted on an intention, but it was wrong

Question 42

what are the real world consequences of older adults difficulty with prospective memory?

Answer 42

- they miss doses of their medicine - they have more difficulty with adhering to treatment plans - prospective memory is a factor in this - commission - accidentally take the pills twice or three times - omission - forgetting to take the pills

Question 43

what is retrieval-induced forgetting?

Answer 43

- tip‐of‐the‐tongue phenomenon, when you are unable to remember information that you knew at one time - education may help buffer against at least some of the face‐naming deficits associated with aging

Question 44

what are some aspects of memory that decline and some aspects that remain stable?

Answer 44

decline: - episodic memory - source memory - false memory - retrieval failure - prospective memory stable: - semantic memory - flashbulb memory - implicit memory - procedural memory

Question 45

how does self-efficacy impact working memory?

Answer 45

- concern about memory loss can lead to identity accommodation that turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy - memory self-efficacy is related to memory performance in studies - impossible to determine whether lower self‐efficacy caused poorer performance or whether it reflected actual negative changes - there is a positive relationship between self-efficacy and working memory

Question 46

what is stereotype threat? what does it result in and how can it be overcome?

Answer 46

- people perform in ways consistent with negative stereotypes of the group to which they see themselves as belonging - the older person’s self‐identification as “old” contributes to lower memory test scores - older adults can overcome stereotype threat through identity assimilation

Question 47

what is memory controllability and how does it affect the aging process of memory?

Answer 47

- refers to beliefs about the effects of the aging process on memory - such as the extent to which the individual believes that memory decline is inevitable with age - if people believe that they can control their memory they are more likely to take advantage of the strategies to ensure higher performance

Question 48

how do health related behaviours affect memory as we age?

Answer 48

- cigarette smoking led to poorer memory in older age - consumption of fish high in omega-3 fatty acids led to a slower rate of cognitive decline - people in higher social status are more likely to include fish in their regular diets

Question 49

how does exercise affect memory?

Answer 49

- exercise leads to improvements in attention, memory, accuracy, and information processing - exercise may have indirect effects on memory by helping older adults feel stronger and more competent

Question 50

how does metabolic syndrome affect memory?

Answer 50

- people with metabolic syndrome are at a higher risk of Alzheimer’s - impaired glucose tolerance shows a clear relationship to cognitive functioning - older adults with type 2 diabetes are more likely to experience slowing of psychomotor speed and declines in executive functioning

Question 51

how does stress affect memory?

Answer 51

- stress can interfere with memory performance among older adults - stressors on one day predicted memory failures on the next day - but, emotional strain can interfere with memory in anyone regardless of age - interference of emotions (depression), may contribute to poorer performance in older adults by depleting valuable cognitive resources - preoccupation with stress occupies attentional resources that could otherwise be devoted to the memory task

Question 52

how does sleep affect memory?

Answer 52

- in young adults, long‐term memory is strongly linked to slow‐wave sleep - experimental subjects allowed to sleep in between learning and testing consistently achieve better memory performance