Encoding and interference effects on visual working memory binding in young and older adults.

This research will provide insight into the effects of ageing on visual short-term (working) memory and, more specifically, the ability to encode and maintain associations (bindings) between the related features that comprise whole objects.
The research will establish whether or not there is an age-related propensity to confuse temporary associations in memory, and will investigate the processes that may lead to such binding decrements. In everyday life, an age-related binding deficit might be manifest in a number of ways, such as in an increased likelihood with age to confuse the names and faces of people to whom one has just been introduced, or to forget whether the white round pill or the yellow oval pill had just been taken. Three experiments will address whether or not:

1) the presentation time of to-be-remembered items influences binding efficacy in older adults
2) older adults exhibit the same serial position effects, or 'overwriting' of bound representations in memory that has previously been observed in young adults; and
3) older adults are less able than young adults to inhibit irrelevant items from working memory.

Together, these experiments will provide insight into the cognitive abilities that are preserved or impaired with the ageing process.

这项研究将深入揭示衰老对视觉短时（工作）记忆的影响，更具体地说，是对编码和维持构成完整物体的相关特征之间关联（绑定）能力的影响。
该研究将明确是否存在与年龄相关的、混淆记忆中临时关联的倾向，并探究可能导致此类绑定减退的过程。在日常生活中，与年龄相关的绑定缺陷可能以多种方式显现，例如随着年龄增长，人们更可能混淆刚被介绍认识的人的姓名与面孔，或忘记刚服用的是白色圆形药片还是黄色椭圆形药片。三个实验将解决以下问题：
1）待记忆项目的呈现时间是否影响老年人的绑定效能；
2）老年人是否表现出与年轻人相似的系列位置效应（serial position effects），或记忆中绑定表征的覆盖（overwriting）现象——这一现象此前已在年轻人中被观察到；
3）老年人抑制工作记忆中无关项目的能力是否弱于年轻人。
这些实验共同将为理解衰老过程中保留或受损的认知能力提供洞见。