Age- and Individual Specificity of Training Visual Short-term Spatial Memory

Abstract

Cognitive training is known to increase the plasticity of the brain’s neural networks and reduce the expectation of cognitive dysfunction during aging. However, opinions differ regarding the age, individual and time range of the training efficiency. Thus, the aim of the work was to clearing the temporal dynamics of changes in the short-term visual spatial memory of older people in comparison with young people and the dependence on its baseline level. The study involved 65 people of retirement age (M = 65.8; SD = 7.5 years) (GR1) and 92 university students (M = 20.1; SD = 1.4 years) (GR2). To determine the spatial memory, we used a modified “Visual Patterns Test” technique posted on the website psytest.nstu.ru. After a lecture on the methods of formation and implementation of cognitive resources, the study participants were asked to carry out memory training in a free mode at home in order to achieve a consistently maximum result. It is shown that by significantly lower values of short-term visual spatial memory in GR1 than in GR2 in the first testing session, to increase its efficiency, GR1 requires more than 80 sessions of training during some months, while GR2 requires 20 sessions during one-two weeks. The achievement of maximum memory indices occurs faster at its initially high values; however, the effect of training in the first sessions is more pronounced in persons with low memory values, regardless of age. It can be concluded that the effectiveness of spatial memory training at the initial stages is determined by the learning potential, and the realization of the compensatory resources of the brain, whereas the achievement of a result comparable to the young in the elderly is determined by the high level of executive control of behavior, which ensures long-term memory training.