Module code: HRPYC81 Research Report for project 4813, Assignment 62 Unique Reference: 735594 Title of study: INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT AGING HAS ON SHORT-TERM MEMORY TASKS IN A HEALTHY BRAIN

Investigating The Effect Aging Has On Short-Term Memory Tasks in A Healthy Brain 1. Abstract The decline in memory as we age has long been thought to be a product of normal aging. Short term memory studies in the earlier years, up to the late 1990s, seemed to support this belief. Short-term memory holds information temporarily that other mental processes require (Cowan, N et al, 1999), and air-traffic controllers must remember large amounts of current information in order to not cause air collisions. Memory studies in growing body of cognitive neuroscience research show that the brain is adaptive and makes adjustments to compensate for declines in certain areas. These studies have far-reaching consequences and should be used to inform retirement ages and training policies as older adults are ‘quite capable of performing at high levels of proficiency on fast-paced demanding real-world tasks’ (Nunes & Kramer, 2009). A sample of 30 participants, divided by age into two groups where one group was 20 to 40 years old, and the older group were all between 50 to 70 years old, were tested. The short-term memory functions, based on Baddeley’s working memory model, have two key processes. The Visuo-Spatial and Phonological Loop processes hold information in the short-term memory for a few seconds only. The central executive acts as a supervisor and coordinates what happens to this information (McCleod, Working Memory, 2012). The research conducted on these two key areas in this study confirmed that there is a while there is difference in short-term memory performance when two different age groups were tested, it is unclear what impact these differences would have in reality, beyond a test environment. What is clear is how learning a memory enhancement method such as the ‘Chunking’ technique, short-term and working memory performance was markedly improved across both age groups