Episodic memory across the lifespan: The contributions of associative and strategic components

Citation

Shing YL, Werkle-Bergner M, Brehmer Y, Muller V, Li S & Lindenberger U (2010) Episodic memory across the lifespan: The contributions of associative and strategic components. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 34 (7), pp. 1080-1091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.11.002

Abstract
The structural and functional brain circuitries supporting episodic memory undergo profound reorganization in childhood and old age. We propose a two-component framework that combines and integrates evidence from child development and aging. It posits that episodic memory builds on two interacting components: (a) the strategic component, which refers to memory control operations, and (b) the associative component, which refers to mechanisms that bind different features of a memory episode into a compound representation. We hypothesize that: (a) children's difficulties in episodic memory primarily originate from low levels of strategic operations, and reflect the protracted development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC); (b) deficits in episodic memory performance among older adults originate from impairments in both strategic and associative components, reflecting senescent changes in the PFC and the medio-temporal lobes (MTL). Initial behavioral and neural evidence is consistent with both hypotheses. The two-component framework highlights the specificities of episodic memory in different age periods, helps to identify and dissociate its components, and contributes to understanding the interplay among maturation, learning, and senescence.

Keywords
Episodic memory; Binding; Strategy use; Lifespan development; Aging; Child development

Journal
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews: Volume 34, Issue 7