Interference and facilitation in spatial working memory: age-associated differences in lure effects in the n-back paradigm.

Working memory (WM) declines prominently during normal aging. The mechanisms underlying this decline are not fully understood. The authors analyzed performance on 2 versions of a 2-back spatial WM task to assess younger and older adults' responses to lures (i.e., nontarget items that match an item earlier in the sequence but not at the current target lag). Results demonstrate lure interference effects that are particularly pronounced among older adults. At the same time, however, older adults showed facilitation for targets. Taken together, these findings suggest that the contribution of familiarity signals to WM performance increases during normal aging.