VERBAL AND FIGURAL RECOGNITION MEMORY - TASK DEVELOPMENT AND AGE ASSOCIATIONS

The goal of the present study was to develop and validate parallel tes ts of verbal and figural delayed-recognition memory with similar task demands and difficulty levels. Such tasks would allow examination of a ge differences and longitudinal age changes in visual recognition memo ry for two types of stimuli, activate divergent neural systems, and al low us to use the same procedures within the confines of functional ne uroimaging as those we use in standard neuropsychological administrati on. The tasks introduced here include a delay between target presentat ion and test phase, are matched in difficulty, and yield moderate leve ls of performance. Individual and group differences in task performanc e were examined in 80 cognitively normal men and women in two older ag e groups: 60 to 69 and 70 to 85. Accuracy averaged 74% in both tasks, with lower performance in the oldest age group. Although accuracy was equivalent between tasks, subjects had a more liberal response bias in the figural than verbal task. Performance on the new recognition memo ry tests was significantly related to Benton Visual Retention Test (BV RT; Benton [1963]. New York: The Psychological Corporation) and Califo rnia Verbal Learning Test (CVLT; Delis, Kramer, Kaplan, & Ober [1987]. New York: The Psychological Corporation) performance measures. The ab sence of floor ol ceiling effects, wide range of individual variabilit y, and demonstrated concurrent validity of the present tasks suggest t heir potential utility in functional neuroimaging studies and in the e arly detection of cognitive decline.