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Semantic integration declines independently of working memory in aging

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2019

Zude Zhu ,
Suiping Wang ,
Nannan Xu ,
Mengya Li  and
Yiming Yang
Zude Zhu*
Affiliation:
Jiangsu Normal University, Collaborative Innovation Center for Language Ability, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Language and Cognitive Neuroscience
Suiping Wang
Affiliation:
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science
Nannan Xu
Affiliation:
Jiangsu Normal University
Mengya Li
Affiliation:
Jiangsu Normal University
Yiming Yang
Affiliation:
Jiangsu Normal University, Collaborative Innovation Center for Language Competence, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Language and Cognitive Neuroscience
*
*Corresponding author. Email: zhuzude@163.com or yangym@jsnu.edu.cn
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Abstract

Semantic integration and working memory both decline with age. However, it remains unclear whether the semantic integration decline is independent of working memory decline or whether it can be solely explained by the latter factor. In this event-related potentials experiment, 43 younger adults and 43 cognitively healthy older adults read semantically congruent and incongruent sentences. After controlling for working memory, behavioral accuracy was significantly lower in the older adults than in the younger adults. In addition, the semantic integration related N400 effect (incongruent vs. congruent) for correct trials was apparent in the whole brain in the younger adults but restricted to the posterior region in the older adults. The results clarify the relationship between working memory and semantic integration, and clearly demonstrate that semantic integration decline is independent of working memory decline during aging.

Keywords

agingN400semantic integrationworking memory
Type
Original Article
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 40 , Issue 6 , November 2019 , pp. 1481 - 1494
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

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