Is procedural memory relatively spared from age effects?

Numerous types of age-related deficits in the nervous system have been well documented. While a distinction between general types of memories that are susceptible to compromise with advanced age has been fairly well agreed upon, it is often difficult to determine exactly which specific processes are detrimentally influenced. In this study, we used a paradigm that enabled us to distinguish between effects associated with gross motor deficits and those due to learning and memory of a motor skill, per se. In terms of both latency and errors, senescent animals were, on average, impaired in their ability to traverse an elevated obstacle course, compared to younger animals. Yet, if gross motor abilities are accounted for, a fraction of these deficits is readily explained. Moreover, if individual baseline performance differences are normalized, no memory differences are evident across age groups. These observations suggest that memory for a procedural task is not impaired with advanced age. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.