Memory flexibility training for autobiographical memory as an intervention for maintaining social and mental well-being in older adults

Abstract

Autobiographical memory specificity (AMS) reduces with increasing age and is associated with depression, social problem-solving and functional limitations. However, ability to switch between general and specific, as well as between positive and negative retrieval, may be more important for the strategic use of autobiographical information in everyday life. Ability to switch between retrieval modes is likely to rely on aspects of executive function. We propose that age-related deficits in cognitive flexibility impair AMS, but the “positivity effect” protects positively valenced memories from impaired specificity. A training programme to improve the ability to flexibly retrieve different types of memories in depressed adults (MemFlex) was examined in non-depressed older adults to determine effects on AMS, valence and the executive functions underlying cognitive flexibility. Thirty-nine participants aged 70+ (MemFlex, n = 20; control, n = 19) took part. AMS and the inhibition aspect of executive function improved in both groups, suggesting these abilities are amenable to change, although not differentially affected by this type of training. Lower baseline inhibition scores correlated with increased negative, but not positive AMS, suggesting that positive AMS is an automatic process in older adults. Changes in AMS correlated with changes in social problem-solving, emphasising the usefulness of AMs in a social environment.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2018.1464582
Divisions: College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Psychology
College of Health & Life Sciences > Clinical and Systems Neuroscience
College of Health & Life Sciences
Additional Information: © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Funding: This work was supported by Abbeyfield Society
Publication ISSN: 1464-0686
Last Modified: 01 Mar 2024 08:13
Date Deposited: 30 May 2018 08:15
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: https://www.tan ... 11.2018.1464582 (Publisher URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2018-10-21
Published Online Date: 2018-05-07
Accepted Date: 2018-04-09
Authors: Leahy, Fiona
Ridout, Nathan (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-7111-2996)
Holland, Carol A

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