Auditory and visual memory losses in aging populations

Abstract

Seventy-four men and women (age range, 44-77 years) were tested for short-term auditory and visual memory as part of a larger series of memory and cognitive function tests. All test scores for visual memory, including facial photograph recognition when a sequence requirement was adhered to, showed a significant decline (p smaller than .05) in a comparison of subjects aged 44-54 and subjects aged 55-64. This decline was not observed with the two tests of auditory memory. Thus the data indicate that short-term visual memory may be more susceptible to aging than is auditory memory.