Retrieval mode switching affects autobiographical memory accuracy and elaboration in ageing

Flexibility in the recall of autobiographical memories, from highly detailed unique episodes to more abstract and decontextualised personal knowledge, depends on control processes and contextual factors, including the specific task demands. Here, we investigated the costs of switching between different types of autobiographical retrieval in young and older adults. In an online task, participants were first instructed to recall specific (unique) and categoric (repeated) events sequentially (baseline block). They were then asked to alternate between specific and categoric retrieval (switching block). We analysed autobiographical memory recall as content alignment with instructions (e.g., describing a unique event when instructed to recall a specific memory), and details produced (e.g. describing a unique event with rich episodic details). Our results revealed that participants recalled fewer memories consistent with instructions in the switching block as compared to the baseline block. In particular, older adults showed a lower performance for categoric but not specific memories in the switching compared to the baseline block. However, most age group differences emerged when considering the type of details produced, regardless of task switching demands. When instructed to recall specific events, older adults’ narratives included a lower proportion of episodic details and a higher proportion of semantic details than young adults. Similarly, when instructed to recall categoric events, older adults recalled a lower proportion of repeated events details but a higher proportion of semantic information, as compared to young adults. Together these results reveal that autobiographical memory retrieval in aging varies with task demands, though intertwined with a prevalent episodic-to-semantic shift across instructions.