Do men show more rapid age-associated decline in simulated everyday verbal memory than do women?

Psychol Aging. 1993 Mar;8(1):68-71. doi: 10.1037//0882-7974.8.1.68.

Abstract

Recent magnetic resonance imaging data suggest that men show more rapid age-associated atrophy of the left hemisphere than do women. To investigate whether a similar pattern occurs for functional decline, the authors tested 417 male-female pairs, ages 17-79 years and matched perfectly on age and education, on 3 computer-simulated everyday verbal memory tests: Name-Face Association, First-Last Name Associate Learning, and Grocery List Selective Reminding. Age and gender significantly predicted performance on all 3 tests. By contrast, only 1 of 15 Age x Gender interactions was significant, accounting for merely 1% of the test variance. These data suggest that although gender-based differences in rate of left-hemisphere structural decline may occur with normal aging, these apparently do not translate into differential functional decline in simulated everyday verbal memory.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aging / psychology*
  • Dominance, Cerebral
  • Female
  • Gender Identity*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mental Recall*
  • Middle Aged
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Paired-Associate Learning
  • Retention, Psychology
  • Verbal Learning*