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Citation

Finn, Amy S.; Kalra, Priya B.; Goetz, Calvin; Leonard, Julia A.; Sheridan, Margaret A.; & Gabrieli, John D. E. (2016). Developmental Dissociation between the Maturation of Procedural Memory and Declarative Memory. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 142, 212-220. PMCID: PMC4666804

Abstract

Declarative memory and procedural memory are known to be two fundamentally different kinds of memory that are dissociable in their psychological characteristics and measurement (explicit vs. implicit) and in the neural systems that subserve each kind of memory. Declarative memory abilities are known to improve from childhood through young adulthood, but the developmental maturation of procedural memory is largely unknown. We compared 10-year-old children and young adults on measures of declarative memory and working memory capacity and on four measures of procedural memory that have been strongly dissociated from declarative memory (mirror tracing, rotary pursuit, probabilistic classification, and artificial grammar). Children had lesser declarative memory ability and lesser working memory capacity than adults, but children exhibited learning equivalent to adults on all four measures of procedural memory. Therefore, declarative memory and procedural memory are developmentally dissociable, with procedural memory being adult-like by age 10years and declarative memory continuing to mature into young adulthood.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2015.09.027

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2016

Journal Title

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

Author(s)

Finn, Amy S.
Kalra, Priya B.
Goetz, Calvin
Leonard, Julia A.
Sheridan, Margaret A.
Gabrieli, John D. E.

Article Type

Brief Report

PMCID

PMC4666804

Continent/Country

United States of America

State

Nonspecific

ORCiD

Sheridan - 0000-0002-8909-7501