Age-related features of the interaction of learning success and characteristics of auditory operative memory.

The characteristics of the interaction between learning success and measures of auditory operative memory were studied by psychoacoustic testing of 42 medical workers aged 20-65 years trained to work in areas new to them (information science). Three age groups were identified: 20-35 years, 36-50 years, and 51-65 years. The acoustic test consisted of a single presentation via headphones of 12 sequential target words from information science with subsequent presentation of 12 target and 12 masking words in random order. The subjects' task was to recognize the target words. Stepwise linear regression analysis identified a relationship between the efficiency with which the new material was learned and measures of auditory operative memory, whose role in learning success increased with age. Since subjects older than 35 years showed a reduction in remembering efficiency, it was suggested that age-related changes in the characteristics of auditory operative memory are one of the major reasons for degradation of the ability to learn new material.