Age-related changes in the neural mechanisms supporting emotion processing and emotional memory

Older adults process emotional information differently than young adults, placing more emphasis on pleasant information. Age-related changes in emotional processing have downstream effects on the types of information that are remembered best; whereas young adults remember negative information well, older adults often show greater mnemonic benefits for positive information. Although these cognitive changes have been discussed previously (Mather, 2006; Mather & Carstensen, 2005), here we review the neural changes that may mediate these age-related changes. We suggest that changes in older adults’ recruitment of prefrontal regions during emotional processing may reflect not only age-related changes in emotion regulation but also changes in self-referential processing. Because little research has examined the links between the neural networks supporting older adults’ emotional and cognitive functioning, we conclude with a discussion of avenues meriting further research.

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