Distance and location processes in memory for time: An update

Memory for times of past events depends on direct impressions of the temporal “distances” of the events in the past and the reconstruction of temporal “locations. Two studies shed light on the possible neurological basis of location-based processes. In an ERP study, adults performed tasks thought to bias subjects to use distance or location processes. Late frontal activity was specifically linked to location-based processes. In another study using the same tasks, aging was found to disrupt location-based processes more than distance-based processes. Age-related differences in the use of location-based processes were mediated by speed of processing and by working-memory capacities.