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Interindividual Differences in Cognitive Functioning Are Associated with Autobiographical Memory Retrieval Specificity in Older Adults

Published Online:February 26, 2020https://doi.org/10.1024/1662-9647/a000219

Abstract

Abstract. We examined whether interindividual differences in cognitive functioning among older adults are related to episodic memory engagement during autobiographical memory retrieval. Older adults (n = 49, 24 males; mean age = 69.93; mean education = 15.45) with different levels of cognitive functioning, estimated using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), retrieved multiple memories (generation task) and the details of a single memory (elaboration task) to cues representing thematic or event-specific autobiographical knowledge. We found that the MoCA score positively predicted the proportion of specific memories for generation and episodic details for elaboration, but only to cues that represented event-specific information. The results demonstrate that individuals with healthy, but not unhealthy, cognitive status can leverage contextual support from retrieval cues to improve autobiographical specificity.

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