Gender-Specific Differences in the Relationship between Autobiographical Memory and Intertemporal Choice in Older Adults.

ABSTRACT: As the population of older adults grows, their economic choices will have increasing impact on society. Research on the effects of aging on intertemporal decisions shows inconsistent, often opposing results, indicating that yet unexplored factors might play an essential role in guiding one's choices. Recent studies suggest that episodic future thinking, which is based on the same neural network involved in episodic memory functions, leads to reductions in discounting of future rewards. As episodic memory functioning declines with normal aging, but to greatly variable degrees, individual differences in delay discounting might be due to individual differences in the vitality of this memory system in older adults. We investigated this hypothesis, using a sample of healthy older adults who com

SUBMITTER: Seinstra M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4559386 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature