Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Psychiatry Investig. 2013 Jun;10(2):108-14. doi: 10.4306/pi.2013.10.2.108. Epub 2013 May 30.
We hypothesize that the effect of aging on memory is mediated by executive function.
Two hundred and thirty healthy adults (101 male, 129 female) were recruited for the study. We used a promising, newly developed, computerized neuropsychological test for the measurement of executive function and memory. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and path analysis.
The full mediation model showed a good fit to the data. However, chi-squared (χ(2)) tests for model comparison indicated that the partial mediation model better fits our data. Thus, the partial mediation model was used as the final model. In terms of auditory-verbal memory, the effect of aging on memory was fully mediated by executive function. However, visuo-spatial memory was significantly affected both indirectly (through executive function) and directly (by aging). Gender differences were not significant in this model.
This study demonstrated the importance of executive function in the memory functioning of normal aging adults. It is noteworthy that modality differences were found between auditory-verbal and visuo-spatial memory. Aging is not the only factor that drives memory decline, and its direct, adverse effect on memory was more prominent in the visuo-spatial memory task than auditory-verbal memory task. Since performance in both modalities is fully or partially mediated by executive function, it is important to train normal aging adults in executive control skills, such as planning, strategy formation, and rapid decision making.
我们假设衰老对记忆的影响是通过执行功能来介导的。
我们招募了 230 名健康成年人（101 名男性，129 名女性）参与这项研究。我们使用了一种有前途的、新开发的计算机化神经心理学测试来测量执行功能和记忆。使用结构方程模型和路径分析对数据进行了分析。
完全中介模型与数据拟合良好。然而，模型比较的卡方（χ(2)）检验表明，部分中介模型更适合我们的数据。因此，部分中介模型被用作最终模型。在听觉言语记忆方面，衰老对记忆的影响完全通过执行功能来介导。然而，视空间记忆既受到间接（通过执行功能）的影响，也受到直接（由衰老）的影响。在这个模型中，性别差异不显著。
这项研究表明执行功能在正常衰老成年人的记忆功能中的重要性。值得注意的是，在听觉言语记忆和视空间记忆之间发现了模态差异。衰老并不是导致记忆下降的唯一因素，它对视空间记忆任务的直接不利影响比对听觉言语记忆任务更为明显。由于两种模态的表现都完全或部分由执行功能介导，因此对正常衰老成年人进行执行控制技能（如计划、策略形成和快速决策）的训练非常重要。
