The influence of aging on inhibition and release in retrieval-induced forgetting

Retrieving information from memory can cause forgetting of related information in memory. This phenomenon is known as retrieval-induced forgetting. In this experiment, we examined age-related differences of inhibitory function in retrieval-induced forgetting by using a cued recall test. Following the cued recall test, a recognition test was conducted to examine the release of inhibition. In the cued recall test, the same amount of retrieval-induced forgetting effect was observed in younger and older people. This result suggests that both younger and older people have an inhibitory function and that this inhibitory function does not decline with age. In the recognition test, for younger people, retrieval-induced forgetting was not observed in both recognition accuracy and reaction time. However, for older people, retrieval-induced forgetting was observed in both accuracy and reaction time. These results suggest that inhibition in retrieval-induced forgetting is gradually released by item-specific cues and that the function of release inhibition may decline with age.