scholarly journals Executive function and high ambiguity perceptual discrimination contribute to individual differences in mnemonic discrimination in older adults

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Gellersen ◽  
Alexandra N. Trelle ◽  
Richard Henson ◽  
Jon Simons
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Perceptual Discrimination ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Component Processes ◽  
The Impact

Mnemonic discrimination deficits, or impaired ability to discriminate between similar events in memory, is a hallmark of cognitive ageing, characterised by a stark age-related increase in false recognition. While individual differences in mnemonic discrimination have gained attention due to potential relevance for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), our understanding of the component processes that contribute to variability in task performance across older adults remains limited. The present investigation explores the roles of representational quality, indexed by perceptual discrimination of objects and scenes with overlapping features, and strategic retrieval ability, indexed by standardized tests of executive function, to mnemonic discrimination in a large cohort of older adults (N=124). We took an individual differences approach and characterised the contributions of these factors to performance under Forced Choice (FC) and Yes/No (YN) recognition memory formats, which place different demands on strategic retrieval. Performance in both test formats declined with age. Accounting for age, individual differences in FC memory performance were best explained by perceptual discrimination score, whereas YN memory performance was best explained by executive functions. A dominance analysis confirmed the relatively greater importance of perceptual discrimination over executive functioning for FC performance, while the opposite was true for YN. These findings highlight parallels between perceptual and mnemonic discrimination in aging, the importance of considering demands on executive functions in the context of mnemonic discrimination, and the relevance of test format for modulating the impact of these factors on performance in older adults.

scholarly journals Executive function and high ambiguity perceptual discrimination contribute to individual differences in mnemonic discrimination in older adults

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Gellersen ◽  
Alexandra N. Trelle ◽  
Richard Henson ◽  
Jon Simons
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Perceptual Discrimination ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Component Processes ◽  
The Impact

Mnemonic discrimination deficits, or impaired ability to discriminate between similar events in memory, is a hallmark of cognitive ageing, characterised by a stark age-related increase in false recognition. While individual differences in mnemonic discrimination have gained attention due to potential relevance for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), our understanding of the component processes that contribute to variability in task performance across older adults remains limited. The present investigation explores the roles of representational quality, indexed by perceptual discrimination of objects and scenes with overlapping features, and strategic retrieval ability, indexed by standardized tests of executive function, to mnemonic discrimination in a large cohort of older adults (N=124). We took an individual differences approach and characterised the contributions of these factors to performance under Forced Choice (FC) and Yes/No (YN) recognition memory formats, which place different demands on strategic retrieval. Performance in both test formats declined with age. Accounting for age, individual differences in FC memory performance were best explained by perceptual discrimination score, whereas YN memory performance was best explained by executive functions. A dominance analysis confirmed the relatively greater importance of perceptual discrimination over executive functioning for FC performance, while the opposite was true for YN. These findings highlight parallels between perceptual and mnemonic discrimination in aging, the importance of considering demands on executive functions in the context of mnemonic discrimination, and the relevance of test format for modulating the impact of these factors on performance in older adults.

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

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.

scholarly journals Preparing for the Worst: Evidence that Older Adults Proactively Downregulate Negative Affect

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 1291-1306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany Corbett ◽  
M Natasha Rajah ◽  
Audrey Duarte
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Emotional Suppression ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Pls Analysis ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Previous studies have only investigated age-related differences in emotional processing and encoding in response to, not in anticipation of, emotional stimuli. In the current study, we investigated age-related differences in the impact of emotional anticipation on affective responses and episodic memory for emotional images. Young and older adults were scanned while encoding negative and neutral images preceded by cues that were either valid or invalid predictors of image valence. Participants were asked to rate the emotional intensity of the images and to complete a recognition task. Using multivariate behavioral partial least squares (PLS) analysis, we found that greater anticipatory recruitment of the amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and hippocampus in older adults predicted reduced memory for negative than neutral images and the opposite for young adults. Seed PLS analysis further showed that following negative cues older adults, but not young adults, exhibited greater activation of vmPFC, reduced activation of amygdala, and worse memory for negative compared with neutral images. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to provide evidence that the “positivity effect” seen in older adults’ memory performance may be related to the spontaneous emotional suppression of negative affect in anticipation of, not just in response to, negative stimuli.

Sleep Mediates Age-Related Executive Function for Older Adults with Limited Cognitive Reserve

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Denise Parker ◽  
Romola S. Bucks ◽  
Stephanie R. Rainey-Smith ◽  
Erica Hodgson ◽  
Lara Fine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Sleep Quantity ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objective: Sleep quantity and quality are associated with executive function (EF) in experimental studies, and in individuals with sleep disorders. With advancing age, sleep quantity and quality decline, as does the ability to perform EF tasks, suggesting that sleep disruption may contribute to age-related EF declines. This cross-sectional cohort study tested the hypothesis that poorer sleep quality (i.e., the frequency and duration of awakenings) and/or quantity may partly account for age-related EF deficits. Method: Community-dwelling older adults (N = 184) completed actigraphic sleep monitoring then a range of EF tasks. Two EF factors were extracted using exploratory structural equation modeling. Sleep variables did not mediate the relationship between age and EF factors. Post hoc moderated mediation analyses were conducted to test whether cognitive reserve compensates for sleep-related EF deficits, using years of education as a proxy measure of cognitive reserve. Results: We found a significant interaction between cognitive reserve and the number and frequency of awakenings, explaining a small (approximately 3%), but significant amount of variance in EF. Specifically, in individuals with fewer than 11 years of education, greater sleep disturbance was associated with poorer EF, but sleep did not impact EF in those with more education. There was no association between age and sleep quantity. Conclusions: This study highlights the role of cognitive reserve in the sleep–EF relationship, suggesting individuals with greater cognitive reserve may be able to counter the impact of disturbed sleep on EF. Therefore, improving sleep may confer some protection against EF deficits in vulnerable older adults.

scholarly journals Preparing for the worst: Evidence that older adults proactively downregulate negative affect

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany Corbett ◽  
M. Natasha Rajah ◽  
Audrey Duarte
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Positivity Effect ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Impact

AbstractAge-related differences in processing emotional stimuli are well established. However, previous studies have only assessed the impact of age on emotional processing and encoding in response to, not in anticipation of, emotional stimuli. In the current study, we investigated age-related differences in the impact of emotional anticipation on affective responses and episodic memory for emotional images. Young and older were scanned while encoding negative and neutral images preceded by cues that were either valid or invalid predictors of image valence. Participants were asked to rate the emotional intensity of the images and to complete an episodic recognition task immediately after scanning. Using multivariate behavioral partial least squares (PLS) analysis, we found that young and older adults recruit the same set of brain regions to differentially support emotional processing during the anticipation of emotional images. Specifically, anticipatory recruitment of the amygdala, ventromedial PFC, and hippocampus in older adults predicts reduced memory for negative than neutral images for older adults and the opposite for young adults. Seed PLS analyses further show inverse coupling between the amygdala and ventromedial PFC activation following negative cues, consistent with the top-down spontaneous suppression of negative affect. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to provide evidence that the “positivity effect” seen in older adults’ memory performance is related to the spontaneous suppression of negative affect in anticipation of, not just in response to, negative stimuli.

scholarly journals Decoding Selective Attention to Context Memory: An Aging Study

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick S. Powell ◽  
Jonathan Strunk ◽  
Taylor James ◽  
Sean M. Polyn ◽  
Audrey Duarte
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Classification Performance ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Oscillatory Eeg ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Context Memory

AbstractEmerging evidence has suggested that the tendency for older adults to bind too much contextual information during encoding (i.e., hyper-binding) may contribute to poorer memory for relevant contextual information during retrieval. While these findings are consistent with theories of age-related declines in selective attention and inhibitory control, the degree to which older adults are able to selectively attend to relevant contextual information during encoding is unknown. To better understand the neural dynamics associated with selective attention during encoding, the current study applied multivariate pattern analyses (MVPA) to oscillatory EEG in order to track moment-to-moment shifts of attention between relevant and irrelevant contextual information during encoding. Young and older adults studied pictures of objects in the presence of two contextual features: a color and a scene, and their attention was directed to the object’s relationship with one of those contexts (i.e., target context). Results showed that patterns of oscillatory power successfully predicted whether selective attention was directed to a scene or color, across age groups. Individual differences in overall classification performance were associated with individual differences in target context memory accuracy during retrieval. However, changes in classification performance within a trial, suggestive of fluctuations in selective attention, predicted individual differences in hyper-binding. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to use MPVA techniques to decode attention during episodic encoding and the impact of attentional shifts toward distracting information on age-related context memory impairments and hyper-binding. These results are consistent with the as-of-yet unsubstantiated theory that age-related declines in context memory may be attributable to poorer selective attention and/or greater inhibitory deficits in older adults.

Inefficient Encoding as an Explanation for Age-Related Deficits in Recollection-Based Processing

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Friedman ◽  
Ray Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Semantic Retrieval ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Face ◽  
Episodic Memories

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.

Individual differences in executive functions and retrieval efficacy in older adults.

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 1105-1114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fergus I. M. Craik ◽  
Eldar Eftekhari ◽  
Ellen Bialystok ◽  
Nicole D. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Executive Functions

Fear of memory decline predicts lower quality of life and increased memory failures in older adults: Preliminary findings from a novel fear-avoidance of memory decline scale.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Farina ◽  
Marc Patrick Bennett ◽  
James William Griffith ◽  
Bert Lenaert
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Fear Avoidance ◽  
Subjective Memory ◽  
Memory Decline ◽  
General Anxiety ◽  
Quality Of Life Scale ◽  
The Impact

Evidence concerning the impact of fear of memory decline on health-related outcomes is limited. To determine the relationship between fear-avoidance of memory decline, quality of life and subjective memory in older adults using a novel scale to measure fear of memory decline. Sixty-seven older adults (59-81 years) completed a 23-item self-report questionnaire designed to capture experiential, cognitive and behavioral components of fear of memory decline, known as the fear and avoidance of memory decline (FAM) scale. Memory performance was assessed using the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-IV) and the Memory Failures Scale (MFS). General anxiety was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS) and the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI). Quality of life was assessed using the Older Person’s Quality of Life scale (OPQOL-35). The FAM scale demonstrated good reliability and validity. Three latent factors were observed including: (1) fear-avoidance, (2) problematic beliefs and (3) resilience. After adjusting for age, education, memory performance and general anxiety, higher fear-avoidance predicted lower quality of life (p=.021) and increased memory failures (p=.022). Increased fear of memory decline predicts lower quality of life and subjective memory failures in healthy older adults. Based on these findings, we propose a preliminary fear-avoidance model that explains the development and maintenance of dementia-related functional disability in terms of psychological processes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document