Age-related changes in processing and retention in visual working memory on the N-back task

Abstract

Age-related changes in processing and retention in visual working memory were examined using visual stimuli that do not allow for verbal-name coding. Participants ranged in age from their 20s to 70s, and data was analyzed using the cross-sectional cohort method. The N-back task was used, and results from the 0-back task (recognition of the last of the continuously presented stimuli) and the 1-back task (recognition of the penultimate stimulus) were compared. The results showed a sudden decrease in performance on the 0-back task for participants in their 60s, and a relatively linear decrease on the 1-back task from the 30s. These results suggest that aging-related changes in visual working memory reflect a decrease in processing speed. They also suggests that the functions of "simple retention" and "processive retention" are different.