Schedule of Events | Symposia

Multi-Attribute Memory and Decision-Making Across the Adult Lifespan: Neural Representations and Behavioral Dynamics

Poster Session B - Sunday, March 30, 2025, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Christina Yu¹ (sumin.yu@duke.edu), Kennedy Black¹, Jessie Chan¹, Eric Juarez¹, Elizabeth J. Marsh¹, Felipe De Brigard¹, Gregory Samanez-Larkin¹, Roberto Cabeza¹; ¹Duke University

Although memory, aging, and decision making are independently a critical part of our daily lives, the study of the interaction of these three variables is still largely in its infancy. This study aimed to evaluate adult age differences in how memory mechanisms impact decision making. We asked participants (n = 87; age range 25 – 80) to choose between two similar consumer goods (e.g. two different stereos) that differed in the quality and quantity of hypothetical consumer ratings (1 vs 2 rows of star ratings each on a 5-star scale) while undergoing fMRI. Some trials required participants to first view a single item with star ratings and then hold that in memory before being presented, after a delay, with a second item and then asked to choose between the current item and the one presented previously. On other trials, both items and star ratings were presented simultaneously without memory demands. Results from mixed-effect regressions revealed that the right Cingulate Gyrus, right Hippocampus, and left Insula showed significant activation when memory demands were highest during decision making. Activation differences in the right Hippocampus also varied with age, such that older adults had less memory load-related modulation of this region compared to younger adults. Behavioral results also revealed that memory demands reduced decision accuracy more for older than younger adults. Taken together, these results highlight that neural memory-based decision-making mechanisms may diminish as we age even in healthy adults.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Development & aging