Age-related differences in memory for who, when, and where are detectable in middle-aged adults

Our study examined age-related differences across the adult lifespan using a recently developed test assessing memory for who, when, and where in addition to associations among these elements. Young (ages 18-25), middle-aged (ages 40-55), and older adults (ages 60+) were asked to remember a sequence of pictures of different faces paired with different places and place the pairs in the correct sequence. Young adults remembered significantly more face-place pairs in the correct sequence than middle-aged (p < .05) and older adults (p < .05), but there were no significant differences between middle-aged and older adults. Furthermore, young adults remembered significantly more face-place pairs irrespective of sequence than older adults (p < .05). However, there were no other significant differences among the groups.Using a rapidly administered test that integrates aspects of everyday episodic memory, we found evidence for age-related differences in test performance beginning in middle age.

Automated summary

This study used a new test to assess memory differences across the adult lifespan and found evidence for age-related differences beginning in middle age, with young adults performing the best in memory tests.