Trends Cogn Sci. 1997 Sep;1(6):229-36. doi: 10.1016/S1364-6613(97)01068-1.
Although memory processes and systems usually operate reliably, they are sometimes prone to distortions and illusions. Here we review evidence indicating that cognitive aging is often associated with increased susceptibility to various kinds of false recollections. Accumulating data indicate that older adults frequently have special difficulties recollecting the source of information, which in turn renders them vulnerable to confusing perceived and imagined experiences, and to related kinds of memory distortions. Evidence from studies of false recall and recognition indicate that older adults are sometimes more likely than younger adults to remember events that never happened, reflecting the influence of indistinct encoding of events and the use of lenient criteria during retrieval. Neuroimaging studies suggest that age-related changes in medial temporal and frontal regions may play a role in the altered functioning of specific encoding and retrieval processes that give rise to memory distortions. Future studies of aging and false memories are likely to provide a promising avenue for illuminating basic mechanisms of memory distortion.
尽管记忆过程和系统通常可靠地运作，但它们有时也容易受到扭曲和错觉的影响。在这里，我们回顾了一些证据，表明认知老化通常与更容易产生各种错误记忆有关。越来越多的数据表明，老年人在回忆信息来源时经常特别困难，这反过来又使他们容易混淆感知和想象的经验，以及相关类型的记忆扭曲。来自虚假回忆和识别研究的证据表明，老年人有时比年轻人更容易记住从未发生过的事件，这反映了事件编码不清晰以及在检索过程中使用宽松标准的影响。神经影像学研究表明，内侧颞叶和额叶区域与年龄相关的变化可能在导致记忆扭曲的特定编码和检索过程的改变功能中发挥作用。未来对衰老和虚假记忆的研究可能为阐明记忆扭曲的基本机制提供一个有前途的途径。
