Beneficial effects of semantic memory support on older adults’ episodic memory: Differential patterns of support of item and associative information.

Episodic memory is identified with autonoetic consciousness, which gives rise to remembering in the sense of self–recollection in the mental re–enactment of previous events at which one was present. Autonoetic consciousness is distinguished from noetic consciousness, which gives rise to awareness of the past that is limited to feelings of familiarity or knowing. Noetic consciousness is identified not with episodic but with semantic memory, which involves general knowledge. A recently developed approach to episodic memory makes use of ‘first–person’ reports of remembering and knowing. Studies using this approach have revealed many independent variables that selectively affect remembering and others that selectively affect knowing. These studies can also be interpreted in terms of distinctiveness and fluency of processing. Remembering and knowing do not correspond with degrees of confidence in memory. Nor does remembering always control the memory response. There is evidence that remembering is selectively impaired in various populations, including not only amnesic patients and older adults but also adults with Asperger's syndrome. This first–person approach to episodic memory represents one way in which that most elusive aspect of consciousness, its subjectivity, can be investigated scientifically. The two kinds of conscious experiences can be manipulated experimentally in ways that are systematic, replicable and intelligible theoretically.

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Lifecourse socioeconomic changes and late-life cognition in a cohort of U.S.-born and U.S. immigrants: findings from the KHANDLE study

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10976-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Rachel L. Peterson ◽

Kristen M. George ◽

Paola Gilsanz ◽

Elizabeth Rose Mayeda ◽

M. Maria Glymour ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Cultural Capital ◽

Semantic Memory ◽

Low Socioeconomic Status ◽

Late Life ◽

Financial Capital ◽

Socioeconomic Changes ◽

The U.S ◽

Verbal Episodic Memory

Abstract Background Low socioeconomic status (SES) in early and late life has been associated with lower late-life cognition. Less is known about how changes in SES from childhood to late life are associated with late-life cognition, especially among diverse populations of older adults. Methods In a multi-ethnic sample (n = 1353) of older adults, we used linear regression to test associations of change in comprehensive measures of SES (financial, cultural, and social domains) from childhood to late life with semantic memory, episodic memory, and executive function. We tested whether the association between SES trajectory and late-life cognition differed by populations who resided in the U.S. during childhood or immigrated to the U.S. as adults. Results Participants with low childhood/high late-life financial capital had better semantic memory (β = 0.18; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.32) versus those with low financial capital in both childhood and late life, regardless of childhood residence. We observed a significant interaction in the association of verbal episodic memory and cultural capital by childhood residence (p = 0.08). Participants with a foreign childhood residence had higher verbal episodic memory if they had low childhood/high late-life cultural capital (β = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.63), but lower verbal episodic memory if they had high childhood/low late-life cultural capital (β = − 0.40; 95% CI: − 0.94, 0.13). Having high lifecourse social capital was associated with better verbal episodic memory scores among those with a U.S. childhood (β = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.55), but lower verbal episodic memory among those with a foreign childhood (β = − 0.10; 95% CI: − 0.51, 0.31). Conclusions High financial and cultural capital in late life is associated with better cognition, regardless of early childhood SES or childhood residence.

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PrivacyPrimer: Towards Privacy-Preserving Episodic Memory Support For Older Adults

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction ◽

10.1145/3476047 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (CSCW2) ◽

pp. 1-32

Author(s):

Thivya Kandappu ◽

Vigneshwaran Subbaraju ◽

Qianli Xu

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Privacy Preserving ◽

Memory Support

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Semantic Memory Activation After Acute Exercise in Healthy Older Adults

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617719000171 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (6) ◽

pp. 557-568 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Junyeon Won ◽

Alfonso J. Alfini ◽

Lauren R. Weiss ◽

Corey S. Michelson ◽

Daniel D. Callow ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Semantic Memory ◽

Acute Exercise ◽

Memory Task ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Neural Activation ◽

Single Session ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Memory Activation

AbstractObjectives: A growing body of research suggests that regular participation in long-term exercise is associated with enhanced cognitive function. However, less is known about the beneficial effects of acute exercise on semantic memory. This study investigated brain activation during a semantic memory task after a single session of exercise in healthy older adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Methods: Using a within-subjects counterbalanced design, 26 participants (ages, 55–85 years) underwent two experimental visits on separate days. During each visit, participants engaged in 30 min of rest or stationary cycling exercise immediately before performing a Famous and Non-Famous name discrimination task during fMRI scanning. Results: Acute exercise was associated with significantly greater semantic memory activation (Famous>Non-Famous) in the middle frontal, inferior temporal, middle temporal, and fusiform gyri. A planned comparison additionally showed significantly greater activation in the bilateral hippocampus after exercise compared to rest. These effects were confined to correct trials, and as expected, there were no differences between conditions in response time or accuracy. Conclusions: Greater brain activation following a single session of exercise suggests that exercise may increase neural processes underlying semantic memory activation in healthy older adults. These effects were localized to the known semantic memory network, and thus do not appear to reflect a general or widespread increase in brain blood flow. Coupled with our prior exercise training effects on semantic memory-related activation, these data suggest the acute increase in neural activation after exercise may provide a stimulus for adaptation over repeated exercise sessions. (JINS, 2019, 25, 557–568)

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Influence of Aging on the Neural Correlates of Autobiographical, Episodic, and Semantic Memory Retrieval

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_00079 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 23 (12) ◽

pp. 4150-4163 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

Marie St-Laurent ◽

Hervé Abdi ◽

Hana Burianová ◽

Cheryl L. Grady

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Semantic Memory ◽

Memory Retrieval ◽

Memory Task ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Partial Least Square ◽

Least Square ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Age Related

We used fMRI to assess the neural correlates of autobiographical, semantic, and episodic memory retrieval in healthy young and older adults. Participants were tested with an event-related paradigm in which retrieval demand was the only factor varying between trials. A spatio-temporal partial least square analysis was conducted to identify the main patterns of activity characterizing the groups across conditions. We identified brain regions activated by all three memory conditions relative to a control condition. This pattern was expressed equally in both age groups and replicated previous findings obtained in a separate group of younger adults. We also identified regions whose activity differentiated among the different memory conditions. These patterns of differentiation were expressed less strongly in the older adults than in the young adults, a finding that was further confirmed by a barycentric discriminant analysis. This analysis showed an age-related dedifferentiation in autobiographical and episodic memory tasks but not in the semantic memory task or the control condition. These findings suggest that the activation of a common memory retrieval network is maintained with age, whereas the specific aspects of brain activity that differ with memory content are more vulnerable and less selectively engaged in older adults. Our results provide a potential neural mechanism for the well-known age differences in episodic/autobiographical memory, and preserved semantic memory, observed when older adults are compared with younger adults.

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Lifecourse Socioeconomic Changes and Late-Life Cognition in a Cohort of U.S.-born and U.S. Immigrants: Findings from the KHANDLE Study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-117323/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Rachel L. Peterson ◽

Kristen M George ◽

Paola Gilsanz ◽

Elizabeth Rose Mayeda ◽

M. Maria Glymour ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Cultural Capital ◽

Semantic Memory ◽

Late Life ◽

Financial Capital ◽

Diverse Populations ◽

The U.S ◽

Verbal Episodic Memory

Abstract Background: Low socioeconomic status in early and late life has been associated with lower late-life cognition. Less is known about how changes in socioeconomic status from childhood to late life are associated with late-life cognition, especially among diverse populations of older adults.Methods: In a multi-ethnic sample (n=1,353) of older adults, we used linear regression to test associations of change in a comprehensive measures socioeconomic status (financial, cultural, and social domains) from childhood to late life with semantic memory, episodic memory, and executive function. We tested whether the association between SES trajectory and late-life cognition differed by populations who resided in the U.S. during childhood or immigrated to the U.S. as adults.Results: Participants with low childhood/high late life financial capital had better semantic memory (β=0.18; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.32) versus those with low financial capital in both childhood and late life, regardless of childhood residence. We observed a significant interaction in the association of verbal episodic memory and cultural capital by childhood residence (p=0.08). Participants with a foreign childhood residence had higher verbal episodic memory if they had low childhood/high later life cultural capital (β=0.32; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.63), but lower verbal episodic memory if they had high childhood/low late life cultural capital (β=-0.40; 95% CI: -0.94, 0.13). Having high lifecourse social capital was associated with better verbal episodic memory scores among those with a U.S. childhood (β=0.34; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.55), but lower verbal episodic memory among those with a foreign childhood (β=-0.10; 95% CI: -0.51, 0.31).Conclusions: High financial and cultural capital in late life is associated with better cognition, regardless of early childhood SES or childhood residence. Providing increased financial and educational opportunities that contribute to higher late-life SES may produce better cognitive functioning among diverse populations of older adults.

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Episodic and Semantic Memory for Melodies in Alzheimer's Disease

Music Perception An Interdisciplinary Journal ◽

10.1525/mp.2012.29.5.501 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 29 (5) ◽

pp. 501-507 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Ashley D. Vanstone ◽

Ritu Sikka ◽

Leila Tangness ◽

Rosalind Sham ◽

Angeles Garcia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Older Adults ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Semantic Memory ◽

Memory Task ◽

Younger Adults ◽

The Difference ◽

Novel Target ◽

Musical Memory

the present study addressed episodic and semantic memory for melodies in three groups of participants: 35 younger adults, 40 older adults, and 10 individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). To assess episodic memory, a study list of eight novel target melodies was presented three times, followed by a test trial in which target melodies were mixed with foil (previously unheard) melodies. Both explicit and implicit measures were obtained. Explicit memory was assessed by the accuracy of discrimination of the target melodies from the foils. Younger adults were significantly more accurate than older adults, who in turn had significantly higher scores than AD adults. Implicit memory was assessed by examining the difference in pleasantness ratings between target and foil melodies. Younger adults showed significantly greater differences in pleasantness ratings than older adults and AD adults; scores for the two latter groups did not differ. To assess semantic memory, participants were asked to identify traditional melodies within a series of traditional and novel melodies. In contrast to the episodic memory results, all three groups showed very high scores on the semantic memory task with no significant differences among groups. The results support the notion that, though other forms of musical memory may be compromised, semantic memory for melody may be preserved in normal aging and in AD.

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