scholarly journals Object-Location Memory Training in Older Adults Leads to Greater Deactivation of the Dorsal Default Mode Network

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ania Mikos ◽  
Brigitta Malagurski ◽  
Franziskus Liem ◽  
Susan Mérillat ◽  
Lutz Jäncke
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Active Control ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Default Mode Network ◽  
Training Group ◽  
Object Location ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Default Mode ◽  
Location Memory ◽  
Object Location Memory

Substantial evidence indicates that cognitive training can be efficacious for older adults, but findings regarding training-related brain plasticity have been mixed and vary depending on the imaging modality. Recent years have seen a growth in recognition of the importance of large-scale brain networks on cognition. In particular, task-induced deactivation within the default mode network (DMN) is thought to facilitate externally directed cognition, while aging-related decrements in this neural process are related to reduced cognitive performance. It is not yet clear whether task-induced deactivation within the DMN can be enhanced by cognitive training in the elderly. We previously reported durable cognitive improvements in a sample of healthy older adults (age range = 60–75) who completed 6 weeks of process-based object-location memory training (N = 36) compared to an active control training group (N = 31). The primary aim of the current study is to evaluate whether these cognitive gains are accompanied by training-related changes in task-related DMN deactivation. Given the evidence for heterogeneity of the DMN, we examine task-related activation/deactivation within two separate DMN branches, a ventral branch related to episodic memory and a dorsal branch more closely resembling the canonical DMN. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing an untrained object-location memory task at four time points before, during, and after the training period. Task-induced (de)activation values were extracted for the ventral and dorsal DMN branches at each time point. Relative to visual fixation baseline: (i) the dorsal DMN was deactivated during the scanner task, while the ventral DMN was activated; (ii) the object-location memory training group exhibited an increase in dorsal DMN deactivation relative to the active control group over the course of training and follow-up; (iii) changes in dorsal DMN deactivation did not correlate with task improvement. These results indicate a training-related enhancement of task-induced deactivation of the dorsal DMN, although the specificity of this improvement to the cognitive task performed in the scanner is not clear.

scholarly journals No Effects of Non-invasive Brain Stimulation on Multiple Sessions of Object-Location-Memory Training in Healthy Older Adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Külzow ◽  
Angelica Vieira Cavalcanti de Sousa ◽  
Magda Cesarz ◽  
Julie-Marie Hanke ◽  
Alida Günsberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Object Location ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Location Memory ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Object Location Memory

scholarly journals Transfer after process-based object-location memory training in healthy older adults.

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 798-814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Zimmermann ◽  
Claudia C. von Bastian ◽  
Christina Röcke ◽  
Mike Martin ◽  
Anne Eschen
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Object Location ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Location Memory ◽  
Object Location Memory

scholarly journals Mindfulness Training Improves Cognition and Strengthens Intrinsic Connectivity Between the Hippocampus and Posteromedial Cortex in Healthy Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunes Sevinc ◽  
Johann Rusche ◽  
Bonnie Wong ◽  
Tanya Datta ◽  
Robert Kaufman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Default Mode Network ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Training Group ◽  
Mindfulness Training ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Default Mode ◽  
Intrinsic Connectivity

Maintaining optimal cognitive functioning throughout the lifespan is a public health priority. Evaluation of cognitive outcomes following interventions to promote and preserve brain structure and function in older adults, and associated neural mechanisms, are therefore of critical importance. In this randomized controlled trial, we examined the behavioral and neural outcomes following mindfulness training (n = 72), compared to a cognitive fitness program (n = 74) in healthy, cognitively normal, older adults (65–80 years old). To assess cognitive functioning, we used the Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite (PACC), which combines measures of episodic memory, executive function, and global cognition. We hypothesized that mindfulness training would enhance cognition, increase intrinsic functional connectivity measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) between the hippocampus and posteromedial cortex, as well as promote increased gray matter volume within those regions. Following the 8-week intervention, the mindfulness training group showed improved performance on the PACC, while the control group did not. Furthermore, following mindfulness training, greater improvement on the PACC was associated with a larger increase in intrinsic connectivity within the default mode network, particularly between the right hippocampus and posteromedial cortex and between the left hippocampus and lateral parietal cortex. The cognitive fitness training group did not show such effects. These findings demonstrate that mindfulness training improves cognitive performance in cognitively intact older individuals and strengthens connectivity within the default mode network, which is particularly vulnerable to aging affects.Clinical Trial Registration: [https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02628548], identifier [NCT02628548].

An object location memory paradigm for older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment

2014 ◽  
Vol 237 ◽  
pp. 16-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Külzow ◽  
Lucia Kerti ◽  
Veronica A. Witte ◽  
Ute Kopp ◽  
Caterina Breitenstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Object Location ◽  
Location Memory ◽  
Object Location Memory

scholarly journals Flexible Use of Spatial Frames of Reference for Object–Location Memory in Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1542
Author(s):  
Natalia Ladyka-Wojcik ◽  
Rosanna K. Olsen ◽  
Jennifer D. Ryan ◽  
Morgan D. Barense
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Spatial Ability ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
Object Location ◽  
Frames Of Reference ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Location Memory ◽  
Object Location Memory ◽  
Object Locations ◽  
Spatial Frames Of Reference

In memory, representations of spatial features are stored in different reference frames; features relative to our position are stored egocentrically and features relative to each other are stored allocentrically. Accessing these representations engages many cognitive and neural resources, and so is susceptible to age-related breakdown. Yet, recent findings on the heterogeneity of cognitive function and spatial ability in healthy older adults suggest that aging may not uniformly impact the flexible use of spatial representations. These factors have yet to be explored in a precisely controlled task that explicitly manipulates spatial frames of reference across learning and retrieval. We used a lab-based virtual reality task to investigate the relationship between object–location memory across frames of reference, cognitive status, and self-reported spatial ability. Memory error was measured using Euclidean distance from studied object locations to participants’ responses at testing. Older adults recalled object locations less accurately when they switched between frames of reference from learning to testing, compared with when they remained in the same frame of reference. They also showed an allocentric learning advantage, producing less error when switching from an allocentric to an egocentric frame of reference, compared with the reverse direction of switching. Higher MoCA scores and better self-assessed spatial ability predicted less memory error, especially when learning occurred egocentrically. We suggest that egocentric learning deficits are driven by difficulty in binding multiple viewpoints into a coherent representation. Finally, we highlight the heterogeneity of spatial memory performance in healthy older adults as a potential cognitive marker for neurodegeneration, beyond normal aging.

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