Episodic memory naturally declines with age. The method of loci is an encoding strategy that has been shown to enhance episodic memory. However, it relies heavily on associative memory, as it consists in associating each item of a to-be-learnt list with a location along a familiar route, and associative memory is thought to be the source of the episodic age-related decline. However, when associative memory is supported by semantic knowledge, older adults can compensate for this decline. This study aims to explore the use of the method of loci, that we adapted to leverage pre-existing knowledge in semantic memory, to improve episodic memory in aging.

Word recall performance of young (18–30 years old) and older (60–75 years old) participants was tested after encoding word lists using the method of loci under two conditions: congruent or incongruent with pre-existing knowledge, compared to a control condition.

The results showed significant memory performance improvement in both groups when the method of loci was used with congruent associations. In contrast, in older adults, performance in the incongruent condition did not improve compared with that observed during encoding without a specific strategy, highlighting the importance of semantic links for associative memory. Furthermore, using the method of loci with congruent associations, older adults displayed recall performance equivalent to young adults, while it was not the case with incongruent associations.

The method of loci applied in conditions of semantic congruence thus appears to be a promising compensatory strategy for older adults.