Cross-modal repetition priming in young and old adults

Previous research with young adults has shown cross-modal repetition priming for familiar objects between vision and touch. The present study further investigated whether cross-modal priming between these two perceptual modalities is preserved in older adults (Experiment 1). The study also investigated whether within-modal and cross-modal priming for ecological sounds and pictures is preserved with age by comparing performance of younger and older adults (Experiment 2). The results from both experiments showed that the repetition priming exhibited by young adults was similar to that shown by the older participants. These behavioural findings on cross-modal visual, auditory, and haptic priming as well as other recent results from neuroimaging studies reviewed in this paper suggest the implication of areas in the occipital cortex that were previously considered modality specific. Cross-modal facilitation might occur in posterior extrastriate occipital areas that are well preserved in normal ageing.