DOES AGE AFFECT MEMORY ON THE CORSI BLOCK TAPPING TASK PDF

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Does age affect memory on the corsi block tapping task...

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Does age have an effect on performance on the Corsi Block Tapping Task?

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Abstract There is an increasing amount of evidence to suggest that working memory (WM) declines significantly during aging. Given Australia’s progressively aging population, it is becoming imperative to understand how memory changes as we age. The aim of this study is to determine if age has an effect on performance on the Corsi Block Tapping Task (CBTT). The participants included 253 Psychology students from the University of New England. The study was completed as part of a research assignment for the unit PSYC206. Participants were required to download software onto their personal device or laptop and complete the CBTT. The relationship between age (M= 38.2, SD = 10.6) and performance on the CBTT (M= 54.6, SD = 19.2) was statistically significant with an alpha value of .05, r (251) = -.23, p < .001, two tailed. The results provided additional support for the hypothesis that there would be a significant negative relationship between age and performance on the CBTT.

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Does age have an impact on performance on the Corsi Block Tapping Task? Numerous studies have indicated that cognitive abilities are one area that experience a deterioration with age (Vandierendonck et al., 2004; De Paula et al., 2016; Meusel et al., 2017). Kronovsek et al. (2020) state that the hippocampus, a part of the brain essential to memory, loses 5 percent of its nerve cells every decade. This reaches a total decline of around 20% at the age of 80 years. Research suggests that working memory (WM) in particular, the capacity to maintain temporarily, a limited amount of information in mind (Lamont et al., 2005), slowly declines with age even without the presence of disease (Park et al., 2002). However, there has been some debate around what stage of life these cognitive declines start (Toepper, et al., 2014). Kumar & Priyadarshi’s, 2013 study, supported these findings revealing the effect of aging on both verbal and visuospatial working memory on Hindi participants between 40 and 80 years of age. The results reveal that normal aging negatively impacts both the verbal and visuospatial working memory in older adults in comparison to younger adults. Moreover, they revealed that both verbal and visuospatial WM decline at a comparable rate up to 50–60 years of age. However, they state that after 60 years of age, a larger decline occurs with visuospatial WM (Kumar & Priyadarshi, 2013). Although Kumar & Priyardarshi (2013) claim to have found a link between aging and verbal and visuospatial WM on Hindu participants, it is unknown whether the same results would generalize to participants in other countries or cultures. Furthermore, their study allowed participants to two practice trials before commencement, to become accustomed with the task. Therefore, these trials may have contributed to practice effects and impacted the validity of the results.

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Toepper, et al. (2014) also conducted a study which shows support for the relationship between aging and memory. Their study utilized an altered version of the Corsi Block-Tapping task (CBTT). The CBTT, is a behavioral test that measures visuospatial short term working memory (Orsini, 1994). Their altered version used four horizontal blocks instead of nine as in the original version. The results revealed that participants aged over 60 years showed slower retrieval times per target at higher load levels and made an increase in errors in comparison to younger participants (Toepper, et al., 2014). These findings further support evidence that older individuals experience a decline in memory as they age (Vandierendonck et al., 2004; De Paula et al., 2016; Meusel et al., 2017). Although Toepper et al. (2014) revealed a negative relationship between age and memory, they noted that debate continues over whether these changes in fact, begin in earlier decades of life. Additionally, their relatively small sample size of 45 participants reduces the validity of the study. It is also unknown whether their use of an altered version of the CBTT had an effect on their overall results. Research on memory has become increasingly more important as the Australian population has been aging rapidly over recent decades (Australian Bureau of Statistics, [ABS, 2017]. In 2017, Australians aged 65 years and over totaled 3.8 million, making up 15% of the total population. This is in contrast to 5% in 1927 and 9% in 1977 (ABS, 2017). It is anticipated that by 2057, Australians aged 65 years and over will total 8.8 million, equating to 22% of the population, increasing further still to 12.8 million or 25% by 2097 (ABS, 2017) It is therefore imperative to understand how memory changes as adults age, as these changes can have a negative impact on the individual and society as a whole (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2018). This is becoming increasingly important as the retirement

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age in Australia gradually rises and our older population are expected to work longer than ever before. Therefore, understanding how memory declines with age and establishing appropriate safeguards for our older population will enable them to maintain independence, life satisfaction and continue to contribute effectively to society (AIHW, 2017).

The following study therefore set out to determine whether similar results would be found and whether the findings would be generalizable within a different cohort. This would allow us to theoretically interpret previous results with confidence. Based on the results of previous studies, it was predicted that there would be a significant negative relationship between age and performance on the CBTT.

Method Participants The participants included 253 Psychology students from the University of New England. The study was completed as part of a research assignment for the unit PSYC206. Although participation was recommended by the course instructor, it was not mandatory. Participants were considered to have provided implied consent by choosing to participate therefore, Human Resource Ethics Committee (HREC) approval was not required. Inclusion criteria were being over 18 years of age and enrolled in PSYC206. Participants were excluded if they reported uncorrected, non-normal vision. Participants ages ranged between 18 And 67 Years, 133 were aged 37 years and under, 120 were aged 38 years and above (M = 33.21, SD = 8.33). Participants were 57 Males ( 22.5%) and 193 Females (76.3 %), 2 who identified as other (0.8 %) and 1 who preferred not to say (0.4%). See Table 1 below for complete Demographic information.

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Table 1 Sociodemographic Characteristics of Participants Variables

N

%

57

22.5

193

76.3

Prefer not to say

1

0.4

Other

2

0.8

2

0.8

Finished

26

10.3

Degree

50

19.8

Bachelor

123

48.6

Masters

45

17.8

6

2.4

121

47.8

Regional

95

37.5

Rural

35

13.8

2

0.8

Yes

22

8.7

No

231

91.3

Gender Male Female

Highest Education completed Some School

PHD Location City

Remote Children under 2

Materials

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Participants were asked a set of demographic questions including age, gender, level of schooling, location and if they had any children under two. Participants were requested to complete the electronic Corsi Block Tapping task (CBTT) (Corsi, 1972) using Inquisit (Inquisit 5 [Computer software]. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.millisecond.com.). The CBTT is a psychological test used to assess visuospatial short-term working memory (Orsina, 1994). It involves memorizing and copying a set sequence, by tapping up to nine identical colored blocks on a computer screen. In comparison, the original Corsi included nine coloured blocks randomly set out on a board (Orsini, 1994). Like the standard Corsi, the electronic CBTT can be used to investigate visuospatial working memory (Toepper, et al., 2014). Procedure

Participants were required to download Inquisit software (Inquisit 5 [Computer software]. (2016). onto their personal device or laptop. On the PSYC206 course page, they clicked on a url which took them to the experiment. Demographic questions were completed before undertaking the CBTT. The participants were then directed to a welcome page explaining what the CBTT is, what it measures and instructions on completing the test. Participants were shown nine blue square blocks located randomly on a black screen. On each trial, several blocks lit up, one at a time in yellow, in a set sequence. The participant was required to replicate the same sequence by clicking the blocks in the identical order they were presented. Once completed, the participant clicked the done button. If a mistake was made there was an option to click a reset button to start that trial again. In total, the task took approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Results

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To assess whether there was a relationship between age and performance on the CBTT, performance was measured using the partipants total score on the CBTT. For each participant, total score was calculated as the blockspan, longest correct sequence, times the correct number of responses over a total of 10 trials. Prior to calculating the correlation, the assumptions of normality, linearity and homoscedasticity were assessed. Normality assumptions were violated for age (W(251) = .98, p...