AUTOMATIC AND ATTENTIONAL MEMORY MECHANISMS IN THE AGED

众所周知，记忆功能会随着时间的推移而退化。 年龄，但并不完全清楚为什么会这样。 拟议 研究的目的是调查一些潜在的记忆机制， 可能是造成这种年龄相关缺陷的原因 具体而言是 记忆中自动扩散激活的理论机制 网络和从记忆中提取信息的注意能力 将是本次研究的重点。 第一系列实验将 解决与年龄有关的各种传播特征的差异 激活（例如，建立、衰减、深度的速率）。 这将通过一个语义启动任务来完成，在这个任务中， (e.g., CAT）被呈现，随后是目标项（例如，狗）和 测量发音目标项的等待时间。 语义 启动子和靶之间的关系是变化的， 被用作记忆网络中激活的指标。 第二系列 实验将解决与年龄有关的差异， 注意特定的记忆区域。 这一点将再次实现， 一个语义启动任务，其中注意力的方向被操纵， 通过改变受试者对记忆区域的预期， 必要的检索。 在第三组实验中，年龄相关的 从记忆中提取信息的差异将得到解决 通过实例化情景记忆网络， 实验 受试者将被要求学习一系列与 一个话题。 与主题相关的句子的数量， 记住的句子，以及句子被 学到的东西会多种多样。 识别记住的句子的时间将 可以作为一种从情景记忆网络中提取信息的方法。

It is well known that memory functioning suffers some deterioration with age, yet it is not entirely clear why this is the case. The proposed research is designed to investigate some underlying memory mechanisms which may be responsible for this age-related deficit. Specifically, the theoretical mechanisms of automatic spreading activation in the memory network, and attentional capacity in retrieving information from memory will be the focus of this research. The first series of experiments will address age-related differences in various characteristics of spreading activation (e.g., rate of buildup, decay, depth) in the memory network. This will be accomplished via a semantic priming task in which a prime item (e.g., cat) is presented followed by a target item (e.g., dog) and the latency to pronounce the target item is measured. The semantic relationship between the prime and target is varied, and response latency is used as an index of activation in the memory network. The second series of experiments will address age-related differences in the focusing of attention to specific areas of memory. This again will be accomplished in a semantic priming task in which the direction of attention is manipulated by varying the subjects' expectancies about which area of memory will be necessary for retrieval. In the third series of experiments, age-related differences in the retrieval of information from memory will be addressed by instantiating an episodic memory network in the context of the experiment. Subjects will be required to learn a list of sentences related to a topic. The number of sentences related to a topic, the integration of the memorized sentences, and the conditions under which the sentences are learned will be varied. The time to recognize the memorized sentences will be used as a measure of retrieval from an episodic memory network.