[en] A number of studies has suggested that aging is characterized by a decline in the central executive while the automatic processes (in particular operations by the phonological loop) remain intact. According to interpretation, age differences should be minimal in verbal forward digit span while they should be more important in backward verbal digit span. A sample of 1,000 subjects with ages ranging from 16 years to 79 years was used to test this hypothesis. The results show no significant effect of age on the difference between digit span forward and backward. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed
Disciplines :
Neurosciences & behavior
Author, co-author :
Grégoire, Jacques; Université Catholique de Louvain - UCL
Van der Linden, Martial ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cognitives > Psychopathologie cognitive
Language :
English
Title :
The effect of age on forward an backward digit spans
Publication date :
1997
Journal title :
Neuropsychology, Development, and Cognition. Section B, Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition
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