COMPARISON OF THE CNV IN YOUNG AND OLD SUBJECTS - ITS RELATION TO MEMORY AND PERSONALITY

Memory and personality of 16 healthy, elderly human subjects (8 presenile and 8 senile) were assessed by the CLTR [consistent long-term retrieval] of selective reminding and the Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI), Results were correlated with the CNV [contingent negative variation] recorded in the serial conditions of habituation, reinforcement, motor extinction (free attention), reinforcement and motor extinction (forced attention), and compared with those in 8 young subjects. The mean CNV amplitude under the reinforcement condition decreased prominently at ages over 65 yr. The mean reaction time (RT) was prolonged with aging and correlated with the CNV amplitude. The mean CNV amplitude under the motor extinction (free attention) condition decreased from the young to the presenile and senile ages. The mean CNV amplitudes under the habituation and motor extinction (forced attention) conditions did not show any definite changes among the groups. The CNV amplitude in the reinforcement had significant correlations with the CLTR value, extraversion and neuroticism scores of the MPI, while the RT had a significant correlation with the neuroticism score. Resistance against the motor extinction was enhanced with a decrease of the CLTR value and the extraversion score. The CNV in old people was apparently more influenced by senile changes in memory and personality than by chronological age.