Aging and semantic memory: structural age differences.

The objective of this research was to investigate age differences in the structure of semantic memory. The tasks employed (i.e., vocabulary, word fluency by conceptual category cueing and word fluency by initial consonant cueing) were representative of different age trends in quantitative test scores. Matching across age levels (young versus middle-aged) was in terms of family membership. Results showed a greater intra-individual variability and lower relationships between aspects of semantic memory by the time of middle-age. The results were viewed from process-oriented and environment-oriented explanatory perspectives.