Are there working memory limitations on older adults' sentence production

Two experiments were performed to examine the role of working memory limitations on older adults' language production processes. Experiment 1 utilized a stem completion technique. Working memory load was controlled by varying the syntactic complexity of the stem. The effects of this load on stem repetition errors, verb agreement errors, and complexity of the completions produced in response to the sentence stem were analyzed. Experiment 2 utilized a dual task technique. Working memory was manipulated by requiring subjects to memorize digit preloads of varying size while producing sentences from two word prompts.; Age differences for the memory components of the tasks were obtained in both experiments. Older adults performed poorly on the memory-demanding components of the tasks. However, their sentence production was unaffected by the working memory manipulations.; The results suggested a difference in strategy between the younger and older adults. Older adults focused their efforts on the sentence production components at the expense of the memory components. The younger adults relied on rote retention and were able to complete successfully both the memory and sentence production components.