Evaluation and comparison of executive functions and false memory in the elderly

Cognitive impairment is a common feature in the elderly and seems to affect other abilities and behaviors of this group.

The present study aimed at comparing the executive functions and false memory in two age groups of 60-70 years and 71-80 years in Tehran.

This is a causal-comparative descriptive study. The statistical population consisted of all the people above 60 years old attending the Retirement Organization of Tehran in 2018. Two groups of 100 participants were selected for the 60-70-year and 71-80-year groups through the convenience sampling method. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the false memory test were used for data collection. The obtained data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and MANOVA.

The results showed that the elderly in the 71-80-year group had poorer performance in WCST than the 60-70-year group. In addition, the false recall and false recognition subscales of false memory were significantly lower in the 60-70-year group than the 71-80-year group.

According to the findings of the present study, executive functions and false memory decrease in the elderly with aging. Therefore, it is very important to provide cognitive empowerment services to enhance the executive functions of the elderly.