P02-145 - The neural correlates of visuo-spatial working memory in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment

AbstractObjectiveOlder adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) develop Alzheimer’s type dementia approximately ten times faster annually than the normal population. Adrenal hormones are associated with aging and cognition. We investigated the relationship between acute stress, cortisol, and memory function in aMCI with an exploratory analysis of sex.MethodSalivary cortisol was sampled diurnally and during two test sessions, one session with the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), to explore differences in the relationship between cortisol and memory function in age-normal cognition (NA) and aMCI. Participants with aMCI (n=6 women, 9 men; mean age=75) or similarly aged NA (n=9 women, 7 men, mean age=75) were given tests of episodic, associative, and spatial working memory with a psychosocial stressor (TSST) in the second session.ResultsThe aMCI group performed worse on the memory tests than NA as expected, and males with aMCI had elevated cortisol levels on test days. Immediate episodic memory was enhanced by social stress in NA but not in the aMCI group, indicating that stress-induced alterations in memory are different in individuals with aMCI. High cortisol was associated with impaired performance on episodic memory in aMCI males only. Cortisol in Session 1 moderated the relationship with spatial working memory, whereby higher cortisol was associated with worse performance in NA, but better spatial working memory in aMCI. In addition, effects of aMCI on perceived anxiety in response to stress exposure were moderated by stress-induced cortisol in a sex-specific manner.ConclusionsWe show effects of aMCI on Test Session cortisol levels and effects on perceived anxiety, and stress-induced impairments in memory in males with aMCI in our exploratory sample. Future studies should explore sex as a biological variable as our findings suggests that effects at the confluence of aMCI and stress can be obfuscated without sex as a consideration.

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P3-216: Retrieval Deficiency in Brain Activity of Working Memory in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment Patients: A Brain Event-Related Potentials Study

Alzheimer s & Dementia ◽

10.1016/j.jalz.2016.06.1878 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

pp. P907-P908

Author(s):

Binyin Li ◽

Huidong Tang ◽

Shengdi Chen

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Related Potentials

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Characteristics of Cognitive Deficit in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment With Subthreshold Depression

Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology ◽

10.1177/0891988719865943 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (6) ◽

pp. 344-353 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Zhiyu Sun ◽

Zhijiang Wang ◽

Lujie Xu ◽

Xiaozhen Lv ◽

Quanzheng Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Language Processing ◽

Working Memory Capacity ◽

The Elderly ◽

Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cognitive Domain ◽

Subthreshold Depression ◽

Cognitive Assessments

It is widely recognized that depression may precipitate the incidence of dementia in the elderly individuals and individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) in particular. However, the association between subthreshold depression (SD) and cognitive deficits in patients with aMCI remains unclear. To address this, we collected demographic information and conducted a battery of neuropsychological cognitive assessments in 33 aMCI participants with SD (aMCI/SD+), 33 nondepressed aMCI participants (aMCI/SD−), and 53 normal controls (NC). Both aMCI groups showed significantly poorer performance in most cognitive domains relative to the NC group (ie, memory, language, processing speed, and executive function). Notably, the aMCI/SD+ group showed significantly poorer attention/working memory compared with the aMCI/SD− group. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed a significant negative association between the severity of depressive symptoms and attention/working memory capacity (β = − .024, P = .024), accounting for 8.28% of the variations in this cognitive domain. All statistical analyses were adjusted by age, sex, and years of education. A logistic regression model had an accuracy of 72.4% in discriminating between the aMCI/SD+ and aMCI/SD− groups based on individual cognitive profiles over 6 domains. Our findings indicate that patients with aMCI with and without SD have distinct patterns of cognitive impairment. This finding may facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of SD in patients with aMCI.

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Benefits of training working memory in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: specific and transfer effects

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610212002177 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 617-626 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Barbara Carretti ◽

Erika Borella ◽

Silvia Fostinelli ◽

Michela Zavagnin

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Fluid Intelligence ◽

Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Control Group ◽

Long Term Memory ◽

Transfer Effects ◽

Memory Problems

ABSTRACTBackground:A growing number of studies are attempting to understand how effective cognitive interventions may be for patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), particularly in relation to their memory problems.Methods:The present study aimed to explore the benefits of a working memory (WM) training program in aMCI patients. Patients (N= 20) were randomly assigned to two training programs: the experimental group practiced with a verbal WM task, while the active control group conducted educational activities on memory.Results:Results showed that the aMCI patients completing the WM training obtained specific gains in the task trained with some transfer effects on other WM measures (visuospatial WM) and on processes involved in or related to WM, e.g. fluid intelligence (the Cattell test) and long-term memory. This was not the case for the aMCI control group, who experienced only a very limited improvement.Conclusion:This pilot study suggests that WM training could be a valuable method for improving cognitive performance in aMCI patients, possibly delaying the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

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