The projects are fairly independent of each other. There is also interaction among projects. For example, Smith and Salthouse are engaged in a joint biomedical program with Emory University to study neuroimaging and various memory tasks, comparing older and younger adults. Working memory tasks evaluate the ability of participants to remember a series of numbers or words, while answering questions about the numbers or words, Smith says. These are simple questions about the relationship between the brain and behavior that we are beginning to answer.
Episodic memory involves research about how people remember.
We manipulate that in an experimental setting and look to see how context affects memory as a function of age. When we're younger, it's done more easily. That's where we see the greatest age differences. The research helps psychologists understand how the brain changes with age. That's why you see teams of cognitive scientists and brain researchers coming together to do these studies.