Aging was linked to changes in memory control for sounds
In an observational study, brain recordings suggested altered memory control in older adults, whose accuracy fell especially sharply when two task demands coincided.
Limit: Memory control was compared across age groups, not tracked within individuals as they aged
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In an observational study, young and older adults completed memory tasks involving sounds while researchers recorded their brains’ electrical activity. The tasks tested working memory, which briefly holds information for use. They combined digits or syllables with lower or higher demands on memory control.
Older adults responded more slowly and less accurately. Their accuracy dropped especially sharply when syllables coincided with the higher control demand. Brain recordings revealed age-related differences at several processing stages. The authors interpreted these patterns as a shift from keeping information ready in memory toward control triggered by incoming sounds. In older adults, higher performance scores on the lower-demand memory task were also associated with better understanding of speech in noise.
Why it matters
Memory control may contribute to age-related listening difficulties, even when hearing tests are normal. The work addresses how overlapping mental demands might make noisy conversations harder to follow.
Caveats
Comparing young and older adults cannot establish how memory control changes within an individual as they age. The observational link with speech-in-noise performance does not establish cause and effect.
The paper
Zhejiang Chinese Medical University; Capital Medical University
Hearing Research, May 27, 2026
