Episodic Memory Decline and Healthy Aging ☆

Healthy aging is associated with episodic memory decline. However, little is known about sex differences in the effect of normative aging on memory-related brain network dynamics. Here, we used a data-driven multivariate partial least squares (PLS) connectivity analysis to identify similarities and differences in the effect of biological sex on age- and memory-related differences in task-based fMRI connectivity during encoding and retrieval of face-location associations (spatial context memory). Aging was associated with episodic memory decline in both sexes, but there were no significant sex or sex-by-age interactions in memory performance. The connectivity results show that men exhibited greater between-network connectivity with advanced age, which was detrimental to memory performance. Women exhibited reduced connectivity between visual and higher order cognitive networks with advanced age, which was detrimental to memory performance. Therefore, there are sex differences in the effect of age on episodic memory-related connectivity.

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Age-related episodic memory decline and the role of amyloid-β: a systematic review

Dementia & Neuropsychologia ◽

10.1590/1980-57642021dn15-030002 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 299-313

Author(s):

Jandirlly Julianna Souto ◽

Gabriella Medeiros Silva ◽

Natalia Leandro Almeida ◽

Irina Ivanovna Shoshina ◽

Natanael Antonio Santos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Reference Lists ◽

Functional Decline ◽

Amyloid Β ◽

Hippocampal Volume ◽

Future Research ◽

Memory Decline ◽

Age Related

ABSTRACT Aging has been associated with the functional decline of episodic memory (EM). Unanswered questions are whether the decline of EM occurs even during healthy aging and whether this decline is related to amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition in the hippocampus. Objective: The main purpose of this study was to investigate data on the relationship between the age-related EM decline and Aβ deposition. Methods: We searched the Cochrane, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science databases and reference lists of retrieved articles that were published in the past 10 years. The initial literature search identified 517 studies. After screening the title, abstract, key words, and reference lists, 56 studies met the inclusion criteria. Results: The overall results revealed that increases in Aβ are related to lower hippocampal volume and worse performance on EM tests. The results of this systematic review revealed that high levels of Aβ may be related to EM deficits and the progression to Alzheimer’s disease. Conclusions: We discussed the strengths and pitfalls of various tests and techniques used for investigating EM and Aβ deposition, methodological issues, and potential directions for future research.

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Healthy Aging diminishes the quantity (rate) and quality (precision) of episodic recollection.

10.31234/osf.io/fxjw9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jamie Murray ◽

David Donaldson

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Memory Retrieval ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Significant Decline ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Memory Decline ◽

Age Related ◽

Insight Into ◽

Test Delay

Healthy aging leads to a significant decline in episodic memory, producing a reduction in thelikelihood of successful recollection, such that older adults remember less than younger adults.Emerging evidence from behavioral and neuroimaging studies demonstrate that recollectedinformation can also be more or less precise, highlighting a source of variability in memoryperformance not typically considered in studies of aging. Consequently, it is unknown whetherolder adults, compared to younger adults, only show a significant reduction in recollection rate or also exhibit a decline in recollection precision. Here, we provide new insight into age-relatedmemory decline by employing a novel source task that allows us to examine both the quantity(rate) and quality (precision) of episodic memory retrieval. First, we validated our task,demonstrating that it can effectively capture variability in both the rate and precision in olderadults. Second, we directly compared younger and older adults’ performance as a function ofstudy-test delay, showing significant reductions in both the rate and precision of recollectionwith age. Finally, we asked whether age-related changes in recollection can be accounted for bya reduction in attention, revealing that the division of attention in young adults results in areduction in rate but shows little evidence for a change in precision. Our results raise questionsabout the nature of age-related memory decline, highlighting the importance of measuring boththe quality and quantity of memory, and suggest new routes to achieve the early detection anddiagnosis of abnormal aging deficits.

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Combined genetic influences on episodic memory decline in older adults without dementia.

Neuropsychology ◽

10.1037/neu0000637 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 34 (6) ◽

pp. 654-666 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Erika J. Laukka ◽

Ylva Köhncke ◽

Goran Papenberg ◽

Laura Fratiglioni ◽

Lars Bäckman

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Genetic Influences ◽

Memory Decline

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Coping Capacity and Episodic Memory in Older Adults With SMCs: The Mediating Role of Healthy Lifestyle

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.891 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 278-279

Author(s):

Feilong Wang ◽

Shijie Li ◽

Kaifa Wang ◽

Yanni Yang

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Healthy Lifestyle ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Mediating Effect ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Coping Capacity ◽

Memory Decline ◽

Mediating Role

Abstract Older adults with subjective memory complaints (SMCs) are at increased risk for episodic memory decline. Episodic memory decline is an important predictor of objective memory impairment (one of the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease) and an often-suggested criterion of successful memory aging. Therefore, it is important to explore the determinant factors that influence episodic memory in older adults with SMCs. Roy adaptation model and preliminary evidence suggest that older adults with SMCs undergo a coping and adaptation process, a process influenced by many health-related risks and protective factors. This study aimed to explore the relationship between coping capacity and episodic memory, and the mediating role of healthy lifestyle between coping capacity and episodic memory in a sample of 309 community-dwelling older adults with SMCs. Results from the structural equation modeling showed that coping capacity directly affects episodic memory (r=0.629, p＜0.001), and there is a partial mediating effect (60.5%) of healthy lifestyle among this sample of older adults with SMCs. This study demonstrates that coping capacity and adaptation positively correlate with episodic memory in older adults with SMCs, and that these correlations are mediated by healthy lifestyle. The results suggest that older adults with poor coping capacity should be assessed and monitored regularly, and clear lifestyle-related interventions initiated by healthcare providers that promote healthy lifestyles may effectively improve coping capacity and episodic memory in this population group. Note: First author: Feilong Wang, Co-first author: Shijie li, Corresponding author: Yanni Yang

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Musical instrument engagement across the life course and episodic memory in late life: An analysis of 60 years of longitudinal data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0253053 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (6) ◽

pp. e0253053

Author(s):

Jamie L. Romeiser ◽

Dylan M. Smith ◽

Sean A. P. Clouston

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Cognitive Reserve ◽

High School Graduates ◽

Musical Instrument ◽

Delayed Recall ◽

Memory Decline ◽

Musical Engagement ◽

Rate Of Decline ◽

Over Time

Background As the global burden of dementia increases, the absence of treatment underscores the need for identification of factors that may improve cognitive reserve–the ability to stave off cognitive decline in old age. The beneficial association between musical instrument engagement and episodic memory has been identified in children, young adults, and older adults. Yet, previous studies in musical instrument engagement have rarely examined the potential for adolescence and adulthood exposures to independently improve cognition, nor have they been linked with the rate of memory decline over time in older adults. We investigated whether adolescent musical instrument engagement and continued musical instrument engagement over the adult life course were separately associated with higher episodic memory, as well as rate of decline in a large longitudinal cohort. Methods Data were from a prospective cohort of high school graduates from 1957. High school music engagement (HSME) was ascertained through graduate yearbooks and assessed as membership in musical performance groups. A questionnaire was used to assess musical engagement through adulthood (MEA) at ages 35, 55, and 65. The episodic memory score was composed of immediate and delayed recall task scores, and was assessed when participants were aged approximately 65 and 72 years old among 5,718 individuals. Linear mixed models were used to assess the association between music, and memory performance and decline over time. Results Of high school graduates who participated in the study, 38.1% played music in high school, and 21.1% played music in adulthood. While musical engagement was more common in those who played in childhood, 40% of those who played continuously as an adult did not play in high school. High HSME (B = 0.348, p = 0.049) and continuous MEA (B = 0.424, p = 0.012) were associated with higher memory scores at age 65 after covariate adjustment. When examining memory decline, the benefits of high HSME decreased over time (B = -0.435, p = 0.048), while the rate of decline did not differ between MEA groups. Exploratory models revealed differential benefits for HSME and immediate recall, and MEA and delayed recall. Conclusion This study provides further evidence that musical engagement in childhood or adulthood is associated with non-musical cognitive reserve. These two exposures may act differentially in different domains of episodic memory. Further work is needed to determine the relationship between musicianship and the rate of cognitive decline.

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