Motivated Learning in younger and older adults: Behavioural and neuroimaging studies

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Memory decline is one of the hallmarks of normal aging and can have a significant negative impact on older adults' quality of life. Previous work by the applicant has shown that recalling the specific context of recent events is particularly difficult for older adults. For example, an older adult may remember hearing a story about an acquaintance, but may have trouble remembering where and when the story was told. The proposed research will examine whether older adults' context memory deficit can be minimized by introducing motivational incentives, such as monetary rewards, during learning. Reward-motivated learning has not previously been investigated in older adults. However, in younger adults, monetary incentives have been shown to activate a neural "reward network" which, in turn, enhances processing in a neighbouring "memory network." The proposed research seeks to determine whether the benefits of reward-motivated learning generalize to older adults. Of particular interest is whether older adults' context memory is boosted in the presence of rewards. Findings from this research will contribute significantly to current understanding of cognitive and brain plasticity in aging, and may lead to innovation in the design of effective memory programs for the elderly. The research will be carried out in three phases. Behavioural experiments in Phase 1 will establish whether reward anticipation improves memory in older adults, with specific attention to memory for context. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments in Phase 2 will provide insight into age differences in the brain activity patterns associated with reward effects on memory. Finally, quantitative modelling analyses in Phase 3 will use fMRI data to investigate age differences in the degree to which reward and memory networks show correlated activity and thus "work together" during learning. In sum, the proposed research represents a novel approach to understanding the cognitive and neural basis of age-related differences in learning and memory, and a potential avenue towards ameliorating older adults' memory deficits.