Ways of Measuring Working Memory in Older Adults in Healthy Aging: A Scoping Review

The scoping review aimed to analyze the current methods of measuring working memory (WM) in healthy older adults (60–85 years) without cognitive impairments. The primary objective was to identify common methodological limitations and understand their implications for reliability, ecological validity, and the potential for transferring WM measures to everyday tasks. The hypothesis centered on the inconsistency and limited applicability of WM measures in real-world contexts. The review included 30 empirical studies selected using PRISMA guidelines, focusing on studies published post-2018 across multiple databases, emphasizing WM evaluation in aging. The main findings revealed notable heterogeneity in measurement tasks, with studies using varied tests (e.g., N-Back, Digit Span) and reporting limited use of response time as a measure. A geographic analysis showed that most studies originated in the U.S. and Europe. A significant proportion of the studies lacked reliability parameters, limiting their applicability in everyday contexts. The discussion highlighted theoretical differences as a contributing factor to measurement inconsistencies and emphasized the need for ecological approaches. Future research should address the observed bias, methodological limitations, and explore reliable, transferable WM measures for older adults.