Long-term effects of mnemonic training in healthy older adults: A meta-analysis.

Mnemonic training can improve episodic memory function, the most aging-sensitive functional domain in older adults. However, it remains unclear whether memory training gains can be maintained over time. In this meta-analysis, we aimed to investigate the long-term effects (pretest to follow-up) of mnemonic training in improving memory among older adults. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials of mnemonic training with follow-up assessments (ranging from 0.5 to 32 months, median follow-up duration = 4 months) in healthy older adults (aged ≥ 50 years) without known cognitive impairment. Twenty-one studies, with a total of 4,149 participants, were identified. The three-level meta-analyses indicated that the immediate (pre- to post-test) and long-term effect sizes on episodic memory were 0.408 and 0.418 (Hedges'g, ps < .001), respectively. In addition, the results revealed significant immediate effect (g = 0.362, p < .01) and long-term effect (g = 0.227, p < .01) on subjective memory. It is recommended that future studies incorporate more real-world outcomes and multiple follow-ups and boosters to determine training effects on everyday functioning over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

False Recognition of Emotionally Categorized Pictures in Young and Older Adults.

Normal aging is associated with the shift in motivational priorities from knowledge acquisition to emotion regulation. Current evidence indicates an age-related increase in preferences for positive over negative stimuli in true memory. In the present study, using the categorized pictures paradigm, we investigated whether older adults would exhibit a greater increase in false memory for positive versus negative lures, compared with young adults. We also examined the association of executive functioning with the preferences for positive over negative pictures in false recognition memory. A total of 27 young and 26 older adults studied emotional pictures from various categories during encoding and subsequently completed an old/new recognition test. In addition, all participants completed the executive functioning tests. The results revealed that both older and young adults showed higher rates of false recognition for positive pictures compared with negative pictures; no significant group by valence interaction was observed. Trail making scores were negatively correlated with positive processing preferences in false recognition rates in older but not young adults. These findings suggest that false recognition memory exhibits preferences toward positively valenced stimuli in both young and older adults. Cognitive control processes are necessary for older adults to distort memory in emotionally gratifying ways.

Episodic reconstruction contributes to high-confidence false recognition memories in older adults: Evidence from event-related potentials.

Older adults demonstrate greater susceptibility to high-confidence memory distortions. Cognitive processes underlying memory errors in older adults remain unclear. Here, in a categorized pictures paradigm, we used the event-related potential (ERP) to examine the electrophysiological correlates of false recognition. Young and older participants were presented with categorized pictures during study and subsequently completed an old/new recognition memory task that included studied pictures, lure pictures from studied categories, and new pictures. Behavioral results showed proportionally similar but higher-confidence false memories in older adults compared to young adults. ERP results revealed that false recognition elicited a significant early frontal old/new effect indexing familiarity in young adults, while older adults exhibited a reliable late posterior negativity during false recognition. These findings suggest that episodic reconstruction contributes to high-confidence false memories in older adults.

Electrophysiological evidence for the effects of emotional content on false recognition memory.

Two competing hypotheses attempt to explain the effects of emotional content on the production of false memory. The conceptual relatedness account posits that negative emotion increases false memory by strengthening familiarity process, whereas the distinctiveness heuristic account postulates that negative emotion reduces false memory by influencing recollection process. Here, using the categorized pictures paradigm, we examined these hypotheses by investigating emotional influences on false recognition memory performance and the event-related potential (ERP) correlates of familiarity and recollection. Participants were presented with positive, neutral, or negative pictures from various categories during encoding and later completed a recognition test while electroencephalogram data were recorded. Behavioral results revealed lower corrected false recognition rates for negative and neutral pictures than for positive ones, with no significant difference between negative and neutral pictures. In addition, negative pictures were associated with a more conservative response bias in comparison with neutral and positive pictures. Importantly, ERP results revealed enhanced recollection-related parietal old/new effects for negative pictures relative to positive and neutral pictures, but comparable familiarity-related early frontal old/new effects across each type of emotional valence category during both true and false recognition. Our results suggest that emotionally negative content may affect production of false memory mainly by engaging a distinctiveness heuristic. Methodological implications of these findings are discussed.

The more the better? A meta-analysis on effects of combined cognitive and physical intervention on cognition in healthy older adults.

Both cognitive intervention and physical exercise benefit cognitive function in older adults. It has been suggested that combined cognitive and physical intervention may induce larger effects than cognitive or physical intervention alone, but existing literature has shown mixed results. This meta-analysis aimed at assessing the efficacy of combined intervention on cognition by comparing combined intervention to control group, cognitive intervention and physical exercise. Eligible studies were controlled trials examining the effects of combined intervention on cognition in older adults without known cognitive impairment. Twenty interventional studies comprising 2667 participants were included. Results showed that the overall effect size for combined intervention versus control group was 0.29 (random effects model, p=0.001). Compared to physical exercise, combined intervention produced greater effects on overall effect size (0.22, p<0.01), while no significant difference was found between combined intervention and cognitive intervention. Effects of combined intervention were moderated by age of participants, intervention frequency and setting. The findings suggest that combined intervention demonstrates advantages over control group and physical exercise, while evidence is still lacking for superiority when compared combined intervention to cognitive intervention. More well-designed studies with long follow-ups are needed to clarify the potential unique efficacy of combined intervention for older adults.