WORKING-MEMORY CAPACITY AND READING-COMPREHENSION IN YOUNG AND OLDER ADULTS

This study investigates the role of working-memory capacity in reading comprehension in young and older subjects. A task yielding separate m easures for processing and storage components was used to assess worki ng-memory capacity. A French version of the Nelson-Denny test was admi nistered as a measure of abilities that underlie reading comprehension . In the working-memory task, recall performances were lower in older subjects. Nevertheless, the intercorrelations suggested that the age-r elated impairment was probably linked to the processing component. Mea n scores on the reading-comprehension test did not differ between grou ps. However, scores were correlated with processing time on the workin g-memory task in younger subjects, but with storage capacity in older subjects.