Age and access time for different memory codes

Abstract

Pairs of words were presented to young and elderly human subjects for matching decisions on 1 of 3 bases: physical, acoustic or taxonomic identity. Elderly subjects took longer for all types of decisions, especially for acoustic decisions. The only indication that the elderly were disproportionally slower for semantic decisions was for pairs requiring a different response, compared to decisions yielding a same response. Apparently, speed of access to semantic information is not a major factor in age differences in recall following semantic or nonsemantic processing.