scholarly journals Object-in-Place Memory Predicted by Anterolateral Entorhinal Cortex and Parahippocampal Cortex Volume in Older Adults

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lok-Kin Yeung ◽  
Rosanna K. Olsen ◽  
Bryan Hong ◽  
Valentina Mihajlovic ◽  
Maria C. D’Angelo ◽  
...  

AbstractThe lateral portion of the entorhinal cortex is one of the first brain regions affected by tau pathology, an important biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Improving our understanding of this region’s cognitive role may help identify better cognitive tests for early detection of AD. Based on its functional connections, we tested the idea that the human anterolateral entorhinal cortex (alERC) may play a role in integrating spatial information into object representations. We recently demonstrated that the volume of the alERC was related to processing the spatial relationships of the features within an object (Yeung et al., 2017). In the present study, we investigated whether the human alERC might also play a role in processing the spatial relationships between an object and its environment using an eyetracking task that assessed visual fixations to a critical object within a scene. Guided by rodent work, we measured both object-in-place memory, the association of an object with a given context (Wilson et al., 2013), and object-trace memory, the memory for the former location of objects (Tsao, Moser, & Moser, 2013). In a group of older adults with varying stages of brain atrophy and cognitive decline, we found that the volume of the alERC and the volume of the parahippocampal cortex (PHC) selectively predicted object-in-place memory, but not object-trace memory. These results provide support for the notion that the alERC may integrate spatial information into object representations.

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 711-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lok-Kin Yeung ◽  
Rosanna K. Olsen ◽  
Bryan Hong ◽  
Valentina Mihajlovic ◽  
Maria C. D'Angelo ◽  
...  

The lateral portion of the entorhinal cortex is one of the first brain regions affected by tau pathology, an important biomarker for Alzheimer disease. Improving our understanding of this region's cognitive role may help identify better cognitive tests for early detection of Alzheimer disease. Based on its functional connections, we tested the idea that the human anterolateral entorhinal cortex (alERC) may play a role in integrating spatial information into object representations. We recently demonstrated that the volume of the alERC was related to processing the spatial relationships of the features within an object [Yeung, L. K., Olsen, R. K., Bild-Enkin, H. E. P., D'Angelo, M. C., Kacollja, A., McQuiggan, D. A., et al. Anterolateral entorhinal cortex volume predicted by altered intra-item configural processing. Journal of Neuroscience, 37, 5527–5538, 2017]. In this study, we investigated whether the human alERC might also play a role in processing the spatial relationships between an object and its environment using an eye-tracking task that assessed visual fixations to a critical object within a scene. Guided by rodent work, we measured both object-in-place memory, the association of an object with a given context [Wilson, D. I., Langston, R. F., Schlesiger, M. I., Wagner, M., Watanabe, S., & Ainge, J. A. Lateral entorhinal cortex is critical for novel object-context recognition. Hippocampus, 23, 352–366, 2013], and object-trace memory, the memory for the former location of objects [Tsao, A., Moser, M. B., & Moser, E. I. Traces of experience in the lateral entorhinal cortex. Current Biology, 23, 399–405, 2013]. In a group of older adults with varying stages of brain atrophy and cognitive decline, we found that the volume of the alERC and the volume of the parahippocampal cortex selectively predicted object-in-place memory, but not object-trace memory. These results provide support for the notion that the alERC may integrate spatial information into object representations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 948-958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomer Livne ◽  
Moshe Bar

Recognizing objects in the environment and understanding our surroundings often depends on context: the presence of other objects and knowledge about their relations with each other. Such contextual information activates a set of medial lobe brain regions, the parahippocampal cortex and the retrosplenial complex. Both regions are more activated by single objects with a unique contextual association than by objects not associated with any specific context. Similarly they are more activated by spatially coherent arrangements of objects when those are consistent with their known spatial relations. The current study tested how context in multiple-object displays is represented in these regions in the absence of relevant spatial information. Using an fMRI slow-event-related design, we show that the precuneus (a subpart of the retrosplenial complex) is more activated by simultaneously presented contextually related objects than by unrelated objects. This suggests that the representation of context in this region is cumulative, representing integrated information across objects in the display. We discuss these findings in relation to processing of visual information and relate them to previous findings of contextual effects in perception.


Author(s):  
Isabel J. Sible ◽  
Daniel A. Nation ◽  
Michael Weiner ◽  
Paul Aisen ◽  
Ronald Petersen ◽  
...  

Background: Elevated blood pressure variability (BPV) is predictive of dementia, independent of average blood pressure levels, but neuropathological mechanisms remain unclear. We examined whether BPV in older adults is related to tau accumulation in brain regions vulnerable to Alzheimer disease and whether relationships are modified by apoϵ4 carrier status. Methods: Two hundred eighty-six Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative participants without history of dementia underwent 3 to 4 blood pressure measurements over 12 months and ≥1 tau positron emission tomography thereafter. BPV was calculated as variability independent of mean. Each scan determined tau burden (standardized uptake value ratio) for a temporal meta–region of interest, including burden from entorhinal cortex, amygdala, parahippocampus, fusiform, inferior temporal, and middle temporal. Bayesian linear growth modeling examined the role of BPV, apolipoprotein ϵ4 carrier status, and time on regional tau accumulation after controlling for several variables, including baseline hypertension. Results: Elevated BPV was related to tau accumulation at follow-up in a temporal meta-region, independent of average blood pressure levels (ß, 0.89 [95% credible interval, 0.86–0.92]) and especially in entorhinal cortex (ß, 2.57 [95% credible interval, 2.15–2.99]). Apoϵ4 carriers with elevated BPV had the fastest tau accumulation at follow-up (ß, 1.73 [95% credible interval, 0.47–3.03]). Conclusions: BPV is related to tau accumulation in brain regions vulnerable to Alzheimer disease, independent of average blood pressure. APOEϵ4 modified this relationship. Bidirectionality of findings is possible. BPV may represent a marker of vascular dysfunction related to early-stage tau pathology contributing to Alzheimer disease.


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Friedman ◽  
Ray Johnson

A cardinal feature of aging is a decline in episodic memory (EM). Nevertheless, there is evidence that some older adults may be able to “compensate” for failures in recollection-based processing by recruiting brain regions and cognitive processes not normally recruited by the young. We review the evidence suggesting that age-related declines in EM performance and recollection-related brain activity (left-parietal EM effect; LPEM) are due to altered processing at encoding. We describe results from our laboratory on differences in encoding- and retrieval-related activity between young and older adults. We then show that, relative to the young, in older adults brain activity at encoding is reduced over a brain region believed to be crucial for successful semantic elaboration in a 400–1,400-ms interval (left inferior prefrontal cortex, LIPFC; Johnson, Nessler, & Friedman, 2013 ; Nessler, Friedman, Johnson, & Bersick, 2007 ; Nessler, Johnson, Bersick, & Friedman, 2006 ). This reduced brain activity is associated with diminished subsequent recognition-memory performance and the LPEM at retrieval. We provide evidence for this premise by demonstrating that disrupting encoding-related processes during this 400–1,400-ms interval in young adults affords causal support for the hypothesis that the reduction over LIPFC during encoding produces the hallmarks of an age-related EM deficit: normal semantic retrieval at encoding, reduced subsequent episodic recognition accuracy, free recall, and the LPEM. Finally, we show that the reduced LPEM in young adults is associated with “additional” brain activity over similar brain areas as those activated when older adults show deficient retrieval. Hence, rather than supporting the compensation hypothesis, these data are more consistent with the scaffolding hypothesis, in which the recruitment of additional cognitive processes is an adaptive response across the life span in the face of momentary increases in task demand due to poorly-encoded episodic memories.


Author(s):  
Archana Venkataraman ◽  
Sarah C. Hunter ◽  
Maria Dhinojwala ◽  
Diana Ghebrezadik ◽  
JiDong Guo ◽  
...  

AbstractFear generalization and deficits in extinction learning are debilitating dimensions of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Most understanding of the neurobiology underlying these dimensions comes from studies of cortical and limbic brain regions. While thalamic and subthalamic regions have been implicated in modulating fear, the potential for incerto-thalamic pathways to suppress fear generalization and rescue deficits in extinction recall remains unexplored. We first used patch-clamp electrophysiology to examine functional connections between the subthalamic zona incerta and thalamic reuniens (RE). Optogenetic stimulation of GABAergic ZI → RE cell terminals in vitro induced inhibitory post-synaptic currents (IPSCs) in the RE. We then combined high-intensity discriminative auditory fear conditioning with cell-type-specific and projection-specific optogenetics in mice to assess functional roles of GABAergic ZI → RE cell projections in modulating fear generalization and extinction recall. In addition, we used a similar approach to test the possibility of fear generalization and extinction recall being modulated by a smaller subset of GABAergic ZI → RE cells, the A13 dopaminergic cell population. Optogenetic stimulation of GABAergic ZI → RE cell terminals attenuated fear generalization and enhanced extinction recall. In contrast, optogenetic stimulation of dopaminergic ZI → RE cell terminals had no effect on fear generalization but enhanced extinction recall in a dopamine receptor D1-dependent manner. Our findings shed new light on the neuroanatomy and neurochemistry of ZI-located cells that contribute to adaptive fear by increasing the precision and extinction of learned associations. In so doing, these data reveal novel neuroanatomical substrates that could be therapeutically targeted for treatment of PTSD.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeline Jabès ◽  
Giuliana Klencklen ◽  
Paolo Ruggeri ◽  
Christoph M. Michel ◽  
Pamela Banta Lavenex ◽  
...  

AbstractAlterations of resting-state EEG microstates have been associated with various neurological disorders and behavioral states. Interestingly, age-related differences in EEG microstate organization have also been reported, and it has been suggested that resting-state EEG activity may predict cognitive capacities in healthy individuals across the lifespan. In this exploratory study, we performed a microstate analysis of resting-state brain activity and tested allocentric spatial working memory performance in healthy adult individuals: twenty 25–30-year-olds and twenty-five 64–75-year-olds. We found a lower spatial working memory performance in older adults, as well as age-related differences in the five EEG microstate maps A, B, C, C′ and D, but especially in microstate maps C and C′. These two maps have been linked to neuronal activity in the frontal and parietal brain regions which are associated with working memory and attention, cognitive functions that have been shown to be sensitive to aging. Older adults exhibited lower global explained variance and occurrence of maps C and C′. Moreover, although there was a higher probability to transition from any map towards maps C, C′ and D in young and older adults, this probability was lower in older adults. Finally, although age-related differences in resting-state EEG microstates paralleled differences in allocentric spatial working memory performance, we found no evidence that any individual or combination of resting-state EEG microstate parameter(s) could reliably predict individual spatial working memory performance. Whether the temporal dynamics of EEG microstates may be used to assess healthy cognitive aging from resting-state brain activity requires further investigation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rieke Fruengel ◽  
Timo Bröhl ◽  
Thorsten Rings ◽  
Klaus Lehnertz

AbstractPrevious research has indicated that temporal changes of centrality of specific nodes in human evolving large-scale epileptic brain networks carry information predictive of impending seizures. Centrality is a fundamental network-theoretical concept that allows one to assess the role a node plays in a network. This concept allows for various interpretations, which is reflected in a number of centrality indices. Here we aim to achieve a more general understanding of local and global network reconfigurations during the pre-seizure period as indicated by changes of different node centrality indices. To this end, we investigate—in a time-resolved manner—evolving large-scale epileptic brain networks that we derived from multi-day, multi-electrode intracranial electroencephalograpic recordings from a large but inhomogeneous group of subjects with pharmacoresistant epilepsies with different anatomical origins. We estimate multiple centrality indices to assess the various roles the nodes play while the networks transit from the seizure-free to the pre-seizure period. Our findings allow us to formulate several major scenarios for the reconfiguration of an evolving epileptic brain network prior to seizures, which indicate that there is likely not a single network mechanism underlying seizure generation. Rather, local and global aspects of the pre-seizure network reconfiguration affect virtually all network constituents, from the various brain regions to the functional connections between them.


2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan C. Ipser ◽  
Gregory G. Brown ◽  
Amanda Bischoff-Grethe ◽  
Colm G. Connolly ◽  
Ronald J. Ellis ◽  
...  

AbstractHIV-associated cognitive impairments are prevalent, and are consistent with injury to both frontal cortical and subcortical regions of the brain. The current study aimed to assess the association of HIV infection with functional connections within the frontostriatal network, circuitry hypothesized to be highly vulnerable to HIV infection. Fifteen HIV-positive and 15 demographically matched control participants underwent 6 min of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI). Multivariate group comparisons of age-adjusted estimates of connectivity within the frontostriatal network were derived from BOLD data for dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), dorsal caudate and mediodorsal thalamic regions of interest. Whole-brain comparisons of group differences in frontostriatal connectivity were conducted, as were pairwise tests of connectivity associations with measures of global cognitive functioning and clinical and immunological characteristics (nadir and current CD4 count, duration of HIV infection, plasma HIV RNA). HIV – associated reductions in connectivity were observed between the DLPFC and the dorsal caudate, particularly in younger participants (<50 years, N=9). Seropositive participants also demonstrated reductions in dorsal caudate connectivity to frontal and parietal brain regions previously demonstrated to be functionally connected to the DLPFC. Cognitive impairment, but none of the assessed clinical/immunological variables, was also associated with reduced frontostriatal connectivity. In conclusion, our data indicate that HIV is associated with attenuated intrinsic frontostriatal connectivity. Intrinsic connectivity of this network may therefore serve as a marker of the deleterious effects of HIV infection on the brain, possibly via HIV-associated dopaminergic abnormalities. These findings warrant independent replication in larger studies. (JINS, 2015, 21, 1–11)


2022 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Ondrej Lerch ◽  
Martina Pařízková ◽  
Martin Vyhnálek ◽  
Zuzana Nedelská ◽  
Jakub Hort ◽  
...  

Background: Cholinergic deficit and medial temporal lobe (MTL) atrophy are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) leading to early allocentric spatial navigation (aSN) impairment. APOE ɛ4 allele (E4) is a major genetic risk factor for late-onset AD and contributes to cholinergic dysfunction. Basal forebrain (BF) nuclei, the major source of acetylcholine, project into multiple brain regions and, along with MTL and prefrontal cortex (PFC), are involved in aSN processing. Objective: We aimed to determine different contributions of individual BF nuclei atrophy to aSN in E4 positive and E4 negative older adults without dementia and assess whether they operate on aSN through MTL and PFC or independently from these structures. Methods: 120 participants (60 E4 positive, 60 E4 negative) from the Czech Brain Aging Study underwent structural MRI and aSN testing in real-space arena setting. Hippocampal and BF nuclei volumes and entorhinal cortex and PFC thickness were obtained. Associations between brain regions involved in aSN were assessed using MANOVA and complex model of mutual relationships was built using structural equation modelling (SEM). Results: Path analysis based on SEM modeling revealed that BF Ch1-2, Ch4p, and Ch4ai nuclei volumes were indirectly associated with aSN performance through MTL (pch1 - 2 = 0.039; pch4p = 0.042) and PFC (pch4ai = 0.044). In the E4 negative group, aSN was indirectly associated with Ch1-2 nuclei volumes (p = 0.015), while in the E4 positive group, there was indirect effect of Ch4p nucleus (p = 0.035). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that in older adults without dementia, BF nuclei affect aSN processing indirectly, through MTL and PFC, and that APOE E4 moderates these associations.


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