What Does the n-Back Task Measure as We Get Older? Relations Between Working-Memory Measures and Other Cognitive Functions Across the Lifespan

Patrick D Gajewski, Eva Hanisch, Michael Falkenstein, Sven Thönes, Edmund Wascher, Patrick D Gajewski, Eva Hanisch, Michael Falkenstein, Sven Thönes, Edmund Wascher

Abstract

Working memory (WM) declines with increasing age. The WM capacity is often measured by means of the computerized version of the n-back task. Although the n-back task is widely used in aging research, little is known about its construct validity and specific cognitive functions involved in this task. Moreover, to date, no studies analyzed the construct validity as a function of age. To this end, we conducted a study in a sample of N = 533 individuals aged between 20 and 80 years. The sample was divided into three age groups: young (20-40), middle-aged (41-60), and old (61-80 years). A number of psychometric tests was selected that measure attention, memory, and executive control to elucidate the impact of these constructs on n-back performance. A series of correlation analyses was conducted to assess the relationship between n-back performance and specific cognitive functions in each age group separately. The results show a progressive increase in reaction times and a decrease in the proportion of detected targets from young to old subjects. Age-related impairments were also found in all psychometric tests except for the vocabulary choice test measuring crystallized intelligence. Most importantly, correlations yielded different age-related patterns of functions contributing to performance in the n-back task: whereas performance was most related to executive functions in young age, a combination of attentional and executive processes was associated with performance in middle-aged subjects. In contrast, in older age, mainly attentional, verbal memory, and updating and to a lesser extent executive processes seem to play a crucial role in the n-back task, suggesting a shift of processing strategies across the lifespan.

Keywords: aging; attention; cognitive functions; n-back; stroop interference; verbal memory; working memory.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
RTs in 0-back- and 2-back tasks in young, middle-aged, and old groups. Error bars reflect standard deviations.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Percent of missed targets in 0-back- and 2-back tasks in young, middle-aged, and old groups. Error bars reflect standard deviations.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Digit span. Number of correctly repeated numerical series in forward and in reverse order in young, middle-aged, and old groups. Error bars reflect standard deviations.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Total number of correctly produced words in the Verbal-Fluency Test in young, middle-aged, and old groups. Error bars reflect standard deviations.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Total number of correctly produced words in subtests of the Verbal Learning and Memory Test (VLMT) in young, middle-aged, and old groups. Error bars reflect standard deviations.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Total number of correctly marked words in Multiple Choice Vocabulary Test (MWT-B) in young, middle-aged, and old groups. Error bars reflect standard deviations.
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Total number of correctly produced symbols in the Digit-Symbol-Test (DST) in young, middle-aged, and old groups. Error bars reflect standard deviations.
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
z-transformed number of correctly marked symbols in the d2 Test in young, middle-aged, and old groups. Error bars reflect standard deviations.
FIGURE 9
FIGURE 9
Mean time in seconds needed to conduct Stroop 1, 2, and 3 tasks in young, middle-aged, and old groups. Error bars reflect standard deviations.
FIGURE 10
FIGURE 10
Mean time in seconds needed to conduct TMT-A and TMT-B tasks in young, middle-aged, and old groups. Error bars reflect standard deviations.

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