Cortical thickness in right frontal and left lingual gyri differentially mediate episodic memory for spatial contextual details across the adult lifespan

AbstractHealthy aging is associated with declines in episodic memory and with widespread cortical thinning. These parallel declines suggest that age-related changes in cortical thickness may contribute to episodic memory decline with age. The current study uses a cross-sectional study design to examine whether regional cortical thickness mediates the relationship between age and episodic memory, as measured by a context memory task for faces. Mediation and conditional mediation models were tested using bootstrapping in order to determine how age-associated changes in regional cortical thickness mediated age-associated changes in performance on the context memory task. We observed that right superior frontal cortical thickness conditionally mediated spatial context memory only in middle-aged and older adults; and right caudal middle frontal cortical thickness conditionally mediated context memory only in older adults. Left lingual cortical thickness mediated spatial context memory across the adult lifespan, but this effect was most evident at midlife. Right parahippocampal cortical thickness mediated context memory, independent of age. We conclude that our cortical thickness results were generally consistent with the posterior-to-anterior shift in aging hypothesis (Davis et al., 2008) for episodic memory.

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Generalizing Longitudinal Age Effects on Brain Structure – A Two-Study Comparison Approach

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnhum.2021.635687 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Christiane Jockwitz ◽

Susan Mérillat ◽

Franziskus Liem ◽

Jessica Oschwald ◽

Katrin Amunts ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Sex Education ◽

Cortical Thickness ◽

Brain Structure ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Aging Brain ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Age Related ◽

Two Samples ◽

Sample Characteristics

Cross-sectional studies indicate that normal aging is accompanied by decreases in brain structure. Longitudinal studies, however, are relatively rare and inconsistent regarding their outcomes. Particularly the heterogeneity of methods, sample characteristics and the high inter-individual variability in older adults prevent the deduction of general trends. Therefore, the current study aimed to compare longitudinal age-related changes in brain structure (measured through cortical thickness) in two large independent samples of healthy older adults (n = 161 each); the Longitudinal Healthy Aging Brain (LHAB) database project at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and 1000BRAINS at the Research Center Juelich, Germany. Annual percentage changes in the two samples revealed stable to slight decreases in cortical thickness over time. After correction for major covariates, i.e., baseline age, sex, education, and image quality, sample differences were only marginally present. Results suggest that general trends across time might be generalizable over independent samples, assuming the same methodology is used, and similar sample characteristics are present.

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Evaluation of Episodic and Lexical Metamemory and Executive Function in Healthy Older Adults

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.2618 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 704-705

Author(s):

Atsuko Hayashi

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Executive Function ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Stroop Task ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Memory Task ◽

Lexical Memory ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Self Evaluation ◽

Age Related

Abstract In older adults, it is important to maintain awareness of memory as well as memory performance. However, it is not clear whether the awareness of episodic and lexical memory changes with age and is related to self-evaluation of memory and executive function. Here age-related changes and the relationship between metamemory, executive function, and metamemory scale were investigated. Healthy old (n=40) and young (n=34) groups participated in this study. In the episodic memory task, participants were asked to memorize ten Kanji words and to estimate the number of words they could recall after ten minutes. In the lexical memory task, they rated the likelihood that they could write a target Kanji word written in hiragana and then wrote them down. They were also asked to complete the metamemory in adulthood(MIA) and the position stroop task. In the episodic and lexical memory and the position stroop task and MIA subscales, the performances of the younger group were significantly better than those of the older group. In the episodic memory task, there were correlations between the metamemory and MIA subscales in both groups, but in the lexical memory task, only in the old group. No correlation was found between the results of both memory tasks and the stroop test. These results suggest that older people overestimate memory performances in the episodic and lexical memory tasks and metamemory performances may be associated with self-evaluation of memory. In addition, metamemory might not be related to frontal lobe function as shown in executive function tasks.

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Temporal Chunking Makes Life’s Events More Memorable

Open Psychology ◽

10.1515/psych-2018-0007 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 94-105 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Kristen C. McGatlin ◽

Kimberly M. Newberry ◽

Heather R. Bailey

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Semantic Knowledge ◽

Future Research ◽

Event Segmentation ◽

Age Related ◽

Memory Event ◽

Training Event ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

AbstractDeclines in episodic memory accompany both healthy aging and age-related diseases, such as dementia. Given that memory complaints are common in the aging population, a wealth of research has evaluated the underlying mechanisms of these declines and explored strategy interventions that could offset them. In the current paper, we describe a newer approach to improving memory: event segmentation training. Event segmentation is an encoding strategy in which individuals parse continuous activity into meaningful chunks. The ability to segment activity is associated with later memory for the events, but unfortunately, this segmentation ability declines with age. Importantly, interventions designed to improve event segmentation have resulted in memory improvements for both young and older adults. We will review these past experiments as well as some new event segmentation training work that uses older adults’ semantic knowledge to improve their segmentation and episodic memory. We believe that future research on event segmentation is a promising avenue for improving older adults’ ability to remember everyday activities.

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A-46 Impairments in Memory for “Who”, “When”, and “Where” are Detectable in Middle-Aged Adults

Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology ◽

10.1093/arclin/acz034.46 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (6) ◽

pp. 905-905

Author(s):

A Mustafa ◽

I Beltran-Najera ◽

P Gilbert ◽

L Graves ◽

H Holden ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Young Adults ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Verbal Memory ◽

Test Performance ◽

Middle Aged ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Age Related ◽

Correct Sequence ◽

Middle Aged Adults

Abstract Objective We conducted a cross-sectional study to examine age-¬related differences in performance on a new test assessing memory for “who, when, and where” and associations among these elements. The test was designed to assess aspects of episodic memory by simulating an everyday experience of meeting a series of different people in different places across time. Method Healthy young (ages 18¬-25), middle-aged (ages 40-55), and older adults (ages 60+) were asked to remember a sequence of pictures of different faces paired with different places. After viewing the sequence, the participants were asked to pair each face with the correct place and put the face-place pairs in the correct sequence. Participants also completed a battery of standardized neuropsychological tests. Results Young adults remembered significantly more face-place pairs in the correct sequence than middle-aged (p < .05) and older adults (p < .05). There were no significant differences between middle-aged and older adults in the number of face-place pairs in correct sequence. Furthermore, young adults remembered significantly more face-place pairs irrespective of sequence than older adults (p < .05). There were no significant differences between young and middle-aged adults or between middle-aged and older adults in the number of correct face-place pairs irrespective of sequence. Conclusions Using a new test that incorporates aspects of episodic memory, we found evidence for age-related differences in test performance beginning in middle age. We found that performance on the test correlated with performance on standardized measures of verbal memory and executive functioning but not visual confrontation naming.

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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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Cortical Thickness and Resting State Cardiac Function Across the Lifespan: A Cross-Sectional Pooled Mega Analysis

10.31219/osf.io/btjpw ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Julian Koenig ◽

Birgit Abler ◽

Ingrid Agartz ◽

Torbjörn Åkerstedt ◽

Ole A. Andreassen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cortical Thickness ◽

Resting State ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Small Sample ◽

Brain Morphology ◽

Aging Effects ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Adult Lifespan ◽

Health And Disease ◽

Small Sample Sizes

Understanding the association between autonomic nervous system [ANS] function and brain morphology across the lifespan provides important insights into neurovisceral mechanisms underlying health and disease. Resting state ANS activity, indexed by measures of heart rate [HR] and its variability [HRV] has been associated with brain morphology, particularly cortical thickness [CT]. While findings have been mixed regarding the anatomical distribution and direction of the associations, these inconsistencies may be due to sex and age differences in HR/HRV and CT. Previous studies have been limited by small sample sizes, which impede the assessment of sex differences and aging effects on the association between ANS function and CT. To overcome these limitations, 20 groups worldwide contributed data collected under similar protocols of CT assessment and HR/HRV recording to be pooled in a mega-analysis (N = 1,218 (50.5% female), mean age 36.7 years (range: 12-87)). Findings suggest that the decline in HRV with increasing age is related to a decline in prefrontal CT, particularly in the orbitofrontal cortex. These effects were independent of sex and specific to HRV; with no significant association between CT and HR. Greater CT across the adult lifespan may be vital for the maintenance of healthy cardiac regulation via the ANS. Nonetheless, in the absence of longitudinal data, alternative explanations need to be considered. Findings reveal an important association between cortical thickness and cardiac parasympathetic activity with implications for healthy aging and longevity.

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Pre-stimulus oscillatory activity predicts successful episodic encoding for both young and older adults

10.1101/358721 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jon Strunk ◽

Audrey Duarte

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Stimulus Presentation ◽

Stimulus Onset ◽

Oscillatory Activity ◽

Memory Accuracy ◽

Age Related ◽

Oscillatory Eeg

AbstractHealthy aging is associated with declines in episodic memory performance that are due in part to deficits in encoding. Emerging results from young adult studies suggest that the neural activity during the time-period preceding stimulus presentation is sensitive to episodic memory performance. It is unknown whether age-related declines in episodic memory are due solely to changes in the recruitment of processes elicited by stimuli during encoding or also in processes recruited in anticipation of these stimuli. Here, we recorded oscillatory EEG while young and old participants encoded visual and auditory words that were preceded by cues indicating the stimulus modality. Alpha oscillatory activity preceding and following stimulus onset was predictive of subsequent memory accuracy similarly across age. Frontal beta oscillations linked to semantic elaboration during encoding were reduced by age. Post-stimulus theta power was positively predictive of episodic memory accuracy for old but not young adults, potentially reflecting older adults’ tendency to self-generate associations during encoding. Collectively, these results suggest that the preparatory mobilization of neural processes prior to encoding that benefits episodic memory performance is not affected by age.

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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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