Memory and identification of simulated odors in elderly and young persons

Abstract

Twenty elderly and 20 young persons were tested for memory of chemically simulated odors, minutes after inspecting them, 2–3 h later, and 1 week later. They were also asked to identify the odors by name at the end of the experiment. Unlike most of the everyday odors they simulated, the odors could be varied in intensity by liquid dilution. As in an earlier study, odor memory was poorer in elderly than in young subjects. Performance of the elderly fell to chance in 2–3 h. Over the relatively moderate range used, intensity seemed to matter little to memory, but, over the same range, intensity did play a significant, though relatively small, role in identification. On the average, the stronger the odor, the better the identification. © 1990, The Psychonomic Soceity, Inc.. All rights reserved.