scholarly journals Prefrontal GABA Levels Correlate with Memory in Older Adults at High Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Geetanjali Murari ◽  
Darren Ri-Sheng Liang ◽  
Aliya Ali ◽  
Frankie Chan ◽  
Mirjam Mulder-Heijstra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Gaba A ◽  
Inhibitory Neurotransmitter ◽  
Nonverbal Memory

Abstract γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), a primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, plays a significant role in aging and in neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We investigated the relationship between GABA levels in the dorsomedial/dorsoanterolateral prefrontal cortex (DM/DA-PFC) and memory in high-AD risk participants. Thirty-eight participants (14 Cognitively Normal [CN], 11 with Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD), and 13 Mild Cognitive Impairment [MCI]) underwent magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 3 Tesla. SCD and MCI participants were grouped together to form a single high-AD risk group (N = 24) for the purposes of statistical analyses. Partial correlations of GABA+/Cr level with verbal memory, assessed on California Verbal Learning Test-II, and nonverbal memory, assessed on Brief Visuospatial Memory Test and Rey-Osterrieth test, were examined separately within the high-AD risk and CN groups. GABA+/Cr levels were positively correlated with long-delayed verbal memory (r = 0.69, P = 0.009) and immediate nonverbal memory (r = 0.97, P = 0.03) in high-AD risk, but not in CN participants. These results remained significant after controlling for depression. These preliminary findings, which require replication due to the limited sample sizes, are the first report of an association between GABA+/Cr levels within the DM/DA-PFC and memory performance in high-AD risk individuals.

Subjective Cognitive Decline and its Relation to Verbal Memory and Sex in Cognitively Unimpaired Individuals from a Colombian Cohort with Autosomal-Dominant Alzheimer’s Disease

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Jairo E. Martinez ◽  
Enmanuelle Pardilla-Delgado ◽  
Edmarie Guzmán-Vélez ◽  
Clara Vila-Castelar ◽  
Rebecca Amariglio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Autosomal Dominant ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽  
Mutation Carriers ◽  
Study Partner

Abstract Objective: Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) may be an early indicator of risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Findings regarding sex differences in SCD are inconsistent. Studying sex differences in SCD within cognitively unimpaired individuals with autosomal-dominant AD (ADAD), who will develop dementia, may inform sex-related SCD variations in preclinical AD. We examined sex differences in SCD within cognitively unimpaired mutation carriers from the world’s largest ADAD kindred and sex differences in the relationship between SCD and memory performance. Methods: We included 310 cognitively unimpaired Presenilin-1 (PSEN-1) E280A mutation carriers (51% females) and 1998 noncarrier family members (56% females) in the study. Subjects and their study partners completed SCD questionnaires and the CERAD word list delayed recall test. ANCOVAs were conducted to examine group differences in SCD, sex, and memory performance. In carriers, partial correlations were used to examine associations between SCD and memory performance covarying for education. Results: Females in both groups had greater self-reported and study partner-reported SCD than males (all p < 0.001). In female mutation carriers, greater self-reported (p = 0.02) and study partner-reported SCD (p < 0.001) were associated with worse verbal memory. In male mutation carriers, greater self-reported (p = 0.03), but not study partner-reported SCD (p = 0.11) was associated with worse verbal memory. Conclusions: Study partner-reported SCD may be a stronger indicator of memory decline in females versus males in individuals at risk for developing dementia. Future studies with independent samples and preclinical trials should consider sex differences when recruiting based on SCD criteria.

scholarly journals Women can bear a bigger burden: ante- and post-mortem evidence for reserve in the face of tau

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardino A Digma ◽  
John R Madsen ◽  
Robert A Rissman ◽  
Diane M Jacobs ◽  
James B Brewer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Auditory Verbal Learning Test ◽  
Logical Memory ◽  
Auditory Verbal Learning ◽  
Learning Test

Abstract In this study, we aimed to assess whether women are able to withstand more tau before exhibiting verbal memory impairment. Using data from 121 amyloid-β-positive Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative participants, we fit a linear model with Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test score as the response variable and tau-PET standard uptake value ratio as the predictor and took the residuals as an estimate of verbal memory reserve for each subject. Women demonstrated higher reserve (i.e. residuals), whether the Learning (t = 2.78, P = 0.006) or Delay (t = 2.14, P = 0.03) score from the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test was used as a measure of verbal memory ability. To validate these findings, we examined 662 National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center participants with a C2/C3 score (Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease) at autopsy. We stratified our National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center sample into Braak 1/2, Braak 3/4 and Braak 5/6 subgroups. Within each subgroup, we compared Logical Memory scores between men and women. Men had worse verbal memory scores within the Braak 1/2 (Logical Memory Immediate: β = −5.960 ± 1.517, P &lt; 0.001, Logical Memory Delay: β = −5.703 ± 1.677, P = 0.002) and Braak 3/4 (Logical Memory Immediate: β = −2.900 ± 0.938, P = 0.002, Logical Memory Delay: β = −2.672 ± 0.955, P = 0.006) subgroups. There were no sex differences in Logical Memory performance within the Braak 5/6 subgroup (Logical Memory Immediate: β = −0.314 ± 0.328, P = 0.34, Logical Memory Delay: β = −0.195 ± 0.287, P = 0.50). Taken together, our results point to a sex-related verbal memory reserve.

scholarly journals Event-related potential and EEG oscillatory predictors of verbal memory in mild cognitive impairment

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiangyi Xia ◽  
Ali Mazaheri ◽  
Katrien Segaert ◽  
David P Salmon ◽  
Danielle Harvey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Single Trial ◽  
Prodromal Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alpha Beta

Abstract Reliable biomarkers of memory decline are critical for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. Previous work has found three EEG measures, namely the event-related brain potential P600, suppression of oscillatory activity in the alpha frequency range (∼10 Hz) and cross-frequency coupling between low theta/high delta and alpha/beta activity, each of which correlates strongly with verbal learning and memory abilities in healthy elderly and patients with mild cognitive impairment or prodromal Alzheimer’s disease. In the present study, we address the question of whether event-related or oscillatory measures, or a combination thereof, best predict the decline of verbal memory in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. Single-trial correlation analyses show that despite a similarity in their time courses and sensitivities to word repetition, the P600 and the alpha suppression components are minimally correlated with each other on a trial-by-trial basis (generally |rs| &lt; 0.10). This suggests that they are unlikely to stem from the same neural mechanism. Furthermore, event-related brain potentials constructed from bandpass filtered (delta, theta, alpha, beta or gamma bands) single-trial data indicate that only delta band activity (1–4 Hz) is strongly correlated (r = 0.94, P &lt; 0.001) with the canonical P600 repetition effect; event-related potentials in higher frequency bands are not. Importantly, stepwise multiple regression analyses reveal that the three event-related brain potential/oscillatory measures are complementary in predicting California Verbal Learning Test scores (overall R2’s in 0.45–0.63 range). The present study highlights the importance of combining EEG event-related potential and oscillatory measures to better characterize the multiple mechanisms of memory failure in individuals with mild cognitive impairment or prodromal Alzheimer’s disease.

scholarly journals Decline in verbal memory during preclinical Alzheimer's disease: Examination of the effect of APOE genotype

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 943-955 ◽  
Author(s):  
KELLY L. LANGE ◽  
MARK W. BONDI ◽  
DAVID P. SALMON ◽  
DOUGLAS GALASKO ◽  
DEAN C. DELIS ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Apoe Genotype ◽  
Apoe Ε4 ◽  
Dementia Syndrome ◽  
Ε4 Allele

A subtle decline in episodic memory often occurs prior to the emergence of the full dementia syndrome in nondemented older adults who develop Alzheimer's disease (AD). The APOE-ε4 genotype may engender a more virulent form of AD that hastens this decline. To examine this possibility, we compared the rate of decline in episodic memory during the preclinical phase of AD in individuals with or without at least one APOE ε4 allele. Nondemented normal control (NC; n = 84) participants, nondemented older adults who subsequently developed dementia within 1 or 2 years (i.e., preclinical AD; n = 20), and patients with mild AD (n = 53) were examined with 2 commonly employed tests of episodic memory, the Logical Memory subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale–Revised and the California Verbal Learning Test. Results revealed a precipitous decline in verbal memory abilities 1 to 2 years prior to the onset of the dementia syndrome, but there was little effect of APOE genotype on the rate of this memory decline. The presence of an APOE-ε4 allele, however, did have a differential effect on the sensitivity of the 2 types of memory tests for tracking progression and made an independent contribution to the prediction of conversion to AD. (JINS, 2002, 8, 943–955.)

scholarly journals Neuropsychological and neuroanatomical features of patients with behavioral variant Alzheimer's disease (AD): a comparison to behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia and amnestic AD groups

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia Dominguez Perez ◽  
Jeffrey S Phillips ◽  
Catherine Norise ◽  
Nikolas G Kinney ◽  
Prerana Vaddi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Frontotemporal Dementia ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Executive Dysfunction ◽  
Intracranial Volume ◽  
Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia ◽  
Cortical Thinning ◽  
Learning Test

An understudied non-amnestic variant of Alzheimer's disease (AD), behavioral variant AD (bvAD) is associated with progressive personality, behavior, or executive dysfunction and frontal atrophy. This study characterizes the neuropsychological and neuroanatomical features associated with bvAD by comparing it to behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), amnestic AD (aAD), and subjects with normal cognition. Subjects included 16 bvAD, 67 bvFTD, and 18 aAD patients, and 26 healthy controls. Compared to bvFTD, bvAD showed more significant visuospatial impairments (Rey Figure copy and recall), more irritability (Neuropsychological Inventory), and equivalent verbal memory (Philadelphia Verbal Learning Test). Compared to aAD, bvAD indicated more executive dysfunction (F-letter fluency) and better visuospatial performance. Neuroimaging analysis found that bvAD showed cortical thinning relative to bvFTD posteriorly in left temporal-occipital regions; bvFTD had cortical thinning relative to bvAD in left inferior frontal cortex. bvAD had cortical thinning relative to aAD in prefrontal and anterior temporal regions. All patient groups had lower volumes than controls in both anterior and posterior hippocampus. However, bvAD patients had higher average volume than aAD patients in posterior hippocampus and higher volume than bvFTD patients in anterior hippocampus after adjustment for age and intracranial volume. Findings demonstrated that underlying pathology mediates disease presentation in bvAD and bvFTD.

scholarly journals Validating the Chinese version of the Verbal Learning Test for screening Alzheimer’s disease

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHIUNG CHIH CHANG ◽  
JOEL H. KRAMER ◽  
KER NENG LIN ◽  
WEN NENG CHANG ◽  
YA-LING WANG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Inverse Correlation ◽  
Chinese Version ◽  
Elderly Age ◽  
Learning Test ◽  
Learning Trials ◽  
With Memory

AbstractEpisodic memory tasks are one of the most sensitive tools to discriminate Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study aimed to validate a shorter version verbal memory test that will efficiently assess Chinese elderly with memory complaints. One hundred and eighty-five elderly with normal cognition (NC) and 217 AD patients were evaluated. Each participant received the Chinese Version Verbal Learning Test (CVVLT) consisting of 9 two-character nouns with 4 learning trials, 2 delayed recalls in 30 seconds and 10 minutes, and a word recognition test. In the NC elderly, age and sex had significant effects on recall scores in CVVLT, while education level showed an inverse correlation with 3 different patterns of errors made during the learning, recall, and recognition trials. AD patients had lower scores across all recall tests. In those with lower educational level, NC elderly had higher perseveration errors than AD patients. The cutoff value between the AD and NC groups in the 10-minute recall was 4/5 for those aged >75 years and 5/6 for those aged <75 years. This study has good validity in discriminating AD participants and the data here can help in diagnosing AD and mild cognitive impairment using the CVVLT. (JINS, 2010, 16, 244–251.)

scholarly journals Abnormal Temporal Lobe Response in Alzheimer's Disease during Cognitive Processing as Measured by 11C-2-Deoxy-D-Glucose and PET

1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Miller ◽  
M. J. de Leon ◽  
S. H. Ferris ◽  
A. Kluger ◽  
A. E. George ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Metabolic Rates ◽  
Positron Emission

Elderly controls and probable Alzheimer's disease patients underwent serial positron emission tomography (PET) studies during a baseline condition and while performing a verbal memory task. for the temporal lobes, all 7 Alzheimer patients demonstrated a relative shift in glucose metabolic rates to the right hemisphere during the memory condition relative to baseline, and 5 of 7 controls showed a shift to the left hemisphere. Baseline absolute regional metabolic rates replicate previous findings and were somewhat less useful than the memory challenge in differentiating patients from controls. These results indicate that a temporal lobe abnormality in Alzheimer's disease is related to memory performance.

scholarly journals Cognitively normal women with Alzheimer’s disease proteinopathy show relative preservation of memory but not of hippocampal volume

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Z. K. Caldwell ◽  
Jeffrey L. Cummings ◽  
Sarah J. Banks ◽  
Sebastian Palmqvist ◽  
Oskar Hansson
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Interactive Effect ◽  
Hippocampal Volume ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitively Normal ◽  
Sex Diagnosis ◽  
Preclinical Ad

Abstract Background We examined interactive effects of sex, diagnosis, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid beta/phosphorylated tau ratio (Aβ/P-tau) on verbal memory and hippocampal volumes. Methods We assessed 682 participants (350 women) from BioFINDER (250 cognitively normal [CN]; and 432 symptomatic: 186 subjective cognitive decline [SCD], 246 mild cognitive impairment [MCI]). General linear models evaluated effects of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) proteinopathy (CSF Aß/p-tau ratio), diagnosis, and sex on verbal memory (ADAS-cog 10-word recall), semantic fluency (animal naming fluency), visuospatial skills (cube copy), processing speed/attention functions (Symbol Digit Modalities Test and Trail Making Part A), and hippocampal volumes. Results Amyloid-positive (Aβ/P-tau+) CN women (women with preclinical AD) showed memory equivalent to amyloid-negative (Aβ/P-tau−) CN women. In contrast, Aβ/P-tau+ CN men (men with preclinical AD) showed poorer memory than Aβ/P-tau− CN men. Symptomatic groups showed no sex differences in effect of AD proteinopathy on memory. There was no interactive effect of sex, diagnosis, and Aβ/P-tau on other measures of cognition or on hippocampal volume. Conclusions CN women show relatively preserved verbal memory, but not general cognitive reserve or preserved hippocampal volume in the presence of Aβ/P-tau+. Results have implications for diagnosing AD in women, and for clinical trials.

scholarly journals Temporal order of Alzheimer’s disease-related cognitive marker changes in BLSA and WRAP longitudinal studies

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murat Bilgel ◽  
Rebecca L. Koscik ◽  
Yang An ◽  
Jerry L. Prince ◽  
Susan M. Resnick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Mini Mental State Examination ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Baltimore Longitudinal Study ◽  
Learning Test ◽  
State Examination

ABSTRACTInvestigation of the temporal trajectories of currently used neuropsychological tests is critical to identifying earliest changing measures on the path to dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We used the Progression Score (PS) method to characterize the temporal trajectories of measures of verbal memory, executive function, attention, processing speed, language, and mental state using data spanning normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and AD from 1661 participants with a total of 7839 visits (age at last visit 77.6 SD 9.2) in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging and 1542 participants with a total of 4467 visits (age at last visit 59.9 SD 7.3) in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention. This method aligns individuals in time based on the similarity of their longitudinal measurements to reveal temporal trajectories. As a validation of our methodology, we explored the associations between the individualized cognitive progression scores (Cog-PS) computed by our method and clinical diagnosis. Digit span tests were the first to show declines in both data sets, and were detected mainly among cognitively normal individuals. These were followed by tests of verbal memory, which were in turn followed by Trail Making Tests, Boston Naming Test, and Mini-Mental State Examination. Differences in Cog-PS across the clinical diagnosis groups were statistically significant, highlighting the potential use of Cog-PS as individualized indicators of disease progression. Identifying cognitive measures that are changing in preclinical AD can lead to the development of novel cognitive tests that are finely tuned to detecting earliest changes.ABBREVIATIONSADAlzheimer’s diseaseAVLTRey Auditory Verbal Learning TestBLSABaltimore Longitudinal Study of AgingCICognitive impairmentCog-PSCognitive progression scoreCVLTCalifornia Verbal Learning TestADAlzheimer’s diseaseMCIMild cognitive impairmentMMSEMini-Mental State ExaminationWRAPWisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention

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