What does the WMS-III tell us about memory changes with normal aging?

Abstract

The standardization sample from the WMS-III (N = 1250), which varied in age from 16 to 89, was used to determine whether encoding, retrieval, or storage of verbal and spatial information was most affected by normal aging. Immediate and delayed recall and recognition of Logical Memory and Visual Reproduction were examined. Immediate verbal and spatial recall significantly deteriorated with increasing age, and the age-associated deterioration in delayed recall and recognition was largely explained by poorer immediate memory. These findings, in concert with the smaller aging effects for percent retention after a delay, suggest that the aging effect is due to deterioration in encoding more than retrieval or storage of new information. While Visual Reproduction deteriorated more rapidly with age than Logical Memory, the pattern of performance decrements as a function of age were comparable across both tests. Decreases in performance were first seen in the fifth decade with gradual deterioration until the eighth decade when there was another precipitous drop. These results suggest that functions that are more dependent on the frontal lobes are more vulnerable to aging than those that are more dependent on the temporal lobes.