Age moderation of the association between negative subsequent memory effects and episodic memory performance

Negative subsequent memory effects in functional MRI studies of memory formation have been linked to individual differences in memory performance, yet the effect of age on this association is currently unclear. To provide insight into the brain systems related to memory across the lifespan, we examined functional neuroimaging data acquired during episodic memory formation and behavioral performance from a memory recognition task in a sample of 109 participants, including three developmental age groups (8–12, 13–17, 18–25 year-olds) and one additional group of older adults (55–85 year-olds). Young adults showed the highest memory performance and strongest negative subsequent memory effects, while older adults showed reduced negative subsequent memory effects relative to young adults. Across the sample, negative subsequent memory effects were associated with better memory performance, and there was a significant interaction between negative subsequent memory effects and memory performance by age group. Posthoc analyses revealed that this moderation effect was driven by a stronger association between negative subsequent memory effects and memory performance in young adults than children, and that neither children nor older adults showed a significant association. These findings suggest that negative subsequent memory effects may differentially support memory performance across a lifespan trajectory characterized by developmental maturation and support further investigation of this effect in aging.