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Structural differences in the semantic networks of younger and older adults
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Wulff, Dirk U., Hills, Thomas Trenholm and Mata, Rui (2022) Structural differences in the semantic networks of younger and older adults. Scientific Reports, 12 . 21459. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-11698-4 ISSN 2045-2322.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-11698-4
Abstract
Cognitive science invokes semantic networks to explain diverse phenomena, from memory retrieval to creativity. Research in these areas often assumes a single underlying semantic network that is shared across individuals. Yet, recent evidence suggests that content, size, and connectivity of semantic networks are experience-dependent, implying sizable individual and age-related differences. Here, we investigate individual and age differences in the semantic networks of younger and older adults by deriving semantic networks from both fluency and similarity rating tasks. Crucially, we use a megastudy approach to obtain thousands of similarity ratings per individual to allow us to capture the characteristics of individual semantic networks. We find that older adults possess lexical networks with smaller average degree and longer path lengths relative to those of younger adults, with older adults showing less interindividual agreement and thus more unique lexical representations relative to younger adults. Furthermore, this approach shows that individual and age differences are not evenly distributed but, rather, are related to weakly connected, peripheral parts of the networks. All in all, these results reveal the interindividual differences in both the content and the structure of semantic networks that may accumulate across the life span as a function of idiosyncratic experiences.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
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Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology Q Science > QP Physiology |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology | ||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Cognitive science , Aging -- Physiological aspects, Human information processing -- Age factors , Cognition -- Age factors | ||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Scientific Reports | ||||||
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group | ||||||
ISSN: | 2045-2322 | ||||||
Official Date: | 12 December 2022 | ||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 12 | ||||||
Article Number: | 21459 | ||||||
DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-022-11698-4 | ||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 13 June 2022 | ||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 16 December 2022 | ||||||
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
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