scholarly journals The influence of childhood intelligence, social class, education and social mobility on memory and memory decline in late life

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 847-852 ◽  
Author(s):  
R T Staff ◽  
M J Hogan ◽  
L J Whalley
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Memory Decline ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Auditory Verbal Learning ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Learning Test

Abstract In an observational longitudinal study of a sub-sample of the Aberdeen 1936 birth cohort, from age 62 to 77 years, we investigated childhood intelligence, social class, education, life-course social mobility, memory test performance and memory decline in late life. We examined 388 local residents who had attended school in Aberdeen in 1947 and measured Auditory-Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) at recruitment age about 64 years and up to five times until age about 77 years. Better performance at age about 64 on AVLT was predicted by early socioeconomic status (SES), social mobility and childhood intelligence. The trajectory of AVLT decline was steeper in those who had received less education. This relationship was independent of childhood ability, sex, SES in childhood and social mobility. The protection of memory by education suggests that education supports resilience to age-related cognitive impairment. Upward social mobility does not enhance this effect, suggesting that resilience to age-related decline may be established in early life.

Age-Related Trajectories of Memory Function in Middle-Aged and Older Adults with and without Hearing Impairment

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 282-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shang-Te Wu ◽  
Ching-Ju Chiu
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Memory Function ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Memory Decline ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Auditory Verbal Learning ◽  
Learning Test ◽  
Relationship Of

Background: To examine age-related trajectories of memory function associated with hearing status and to explore potential confounding by sociodemographic, physiological, and behavioral factors in that link. Methods: A national representative sample of Taiwanese adults ≥50 years with and without hearing impairment in 1996 (n = 4,707) were interviewed every 3-4 years until 2007. Cross-sectional and prospective associations between hearing impairment and memory function were determined using multilevel modeling. Results: In bivariate analyses, hearing impairment was associated not only with poor memory function but also with sociodemographic, behavioral and self-rated health status and chronic conditions. These factors, however, did not confound the relationship of hearing impairment with the level or rate of change in the modified Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (m-RAVLT) score - hearing impairment increased the age-related differences in the intercept of the memory function by 25.6%, and that the association was significantly greater in older people than in younger people, but hearing impairment was not associated with the slope of the cognitive trajectory over time. Conclusion: Hearing impairment and the m-RAVLT score at any point in time may have partially combined pathologic mechanisms with age. The vascular risk covariates we considered might also share the etiological pathways and be part of important prevention strategies for guarding against age-related memory decline in the future.

scholarly journals Detecting the significance of changes in performance on the Stroop Color-Word Test, Rey's Verbal Learning Test, and the Letter Digit Substitution Test: The regression-based change approach

2007 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
WIM VAN DER ELST ◽  
MARTIN P.J. VAN BOXTEL ◽  
GERARD J.P. VAN BREUKELEN ◽  
JELLE JOLLES
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Color Word ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Change Score ◽  
Total Recall ◽  
Word Test ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Stroop Color Word Test ◽  
Learning Test

Serial neuropsychological assessment is often conducted to monitor changes in the cognitive abilities of individuals over time. Because practice effects occur and the reliability of test scores is less than perfect, it is difficult to judge whether varying test results should be attributed to chance trends or to real changes in underlying cognitive abilities. In a large sample of adults (age range, 49–81 years), we evaluated the influence of age, gender, and education on test–retest changes in performance after 3 years on Rey's Verbal Learning Test (VLT), the Stroop Color-Word Test (SCWT), and the Letter Digit Substitution Test (LDST). A new statistical method was applied to assess the significance of changes in test performance (i.e., the regression-based change method). The results showed that test–retest changes differed as a function of age for the VLT Total recall 1–3, VLT Total recall 1–5, VLT Delayed recall, and LDST measures. An age × gender interaction was found for the SCWT Interference change score, suggesting that the age-related decline in executive functioning after 3 years was more pronounced for males than for females. A normative change table with appropriate corrections for the relevant independent variables was established. (JINS, 2008,14, 71–80.)

Age and synchrony effects in performance on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 657-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire A. Lehmann ◽  
Anthony D. G. Marks ◽  
Tanya L. Hanstock
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Optimal Time ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Auditory Verbal Learning Test ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Auditory Verbal Learning ◽  
Learning Test

ABSTRACTBackground: There is evidence that individuals perform better on some memory tasks when tested at their preferred time of day, a phenomenon named the synchrony effect. There is also evidence of a predictable change from evening to morning preference during the adult life span. Together, these findings suggest that age effects on memory measures may be overestimated when time of testing is ignored. The aim of this study was to investigate whether synchrony effects could partially explain the well-documented age-related decline in performance on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT).Methods: Groups of 42 younger adults (aged 18–33 years) and 42 older adults (aged 55–71 years) were administered the RAVLT at either their optimal (n = 21) or non-optimal (n = 21) time of day.Results: Although both age groups benefited moderately from being tested at their optimal time, this effect was greater for older participants and extended to all facets of RAVLT performance except proactive interference. However, younger adults outperformed older adults on three of the five RAVLTs.Conclusions: These findings add to existing evidence of synchrony effects, particularly in memory functioning of older adults, and highlight the need for clinicians to consider optimal time of testing when administering and interpreting the RAVLT.

scholarly journals Sex-Based Memory Advantages and Cognitive Aging: A Challenge to the Cognitive Reserve Construct?

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Caselli ◽  
Amylou C. Dueck ◽  
Dona E.C. Locke ◽  
Leslie C. Baxter ◽  
Bryan K. Woodruff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Apoe Genotype ◽  
Memory Decline ◽  
Logical Memory ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Learning Test ◽  
Selective Reminding Test

AbstractEducation and related proxies for cognitive reserve (CR) are confounded by associations with environmental factors that correlate with cerebrovascular disease possibly explaining discrepancies between studies examining their relationships to cognitive aging and dementia. In contrast, sex-related memory differences may be a better proxy. Since they arise developmentally, they are less likely to reflect environmental confounds. Women outperform men on verbal and men generally outperform women on visuospatial memory tasks. Furthermore, memory declines during the preclinical stage of AD, when it is clinically indistinguishable from normal aging. To determine whether CR mitigates age-related memory decline, we examined the effects of gender and APOE genotype on longitudinal memory performances. Memory decline was assessed in a cohort of healthy men and women enriched for APOE ɛ4 who completed two verbal [Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), Buschke Selective Reminding Test (SRT)] and two visuospatial [Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (CFT), and Benton Visual Retention Test (VRT)] memory tests, as well as in a separate larger and older cohort [National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC)] who completed a verbal memory test (Logical Memory). Age-related memory decline was accelerated in APOE ɛ4 carriers on all verbal memory measures (AVLT, p=.03; SRT p<.001; logical memory p<.001) and on the VRT p=.006. Baseline sex associated differences were retained over time, but no sex differences in rate of decline were found for any measure in either cohort. Sex-based memory advantage does not mitigate age-related memory decline in either APOE ɛ4 carriers or non-carriers. (JINS, 2015, 21, 95–104)

Statins, Enzyme CoQ10 Supplement Use, and Cognitive Functioning

2021 ◽  
pp. 089198872110447
Author(s):  
Brian G. Collin ◽  
Dheeraj Raju ◽  
Steven Katsikas
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Neuropsychological Test ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Prevention Study ◽  
Wechsler Memory Scale ◽  
Supplement Use ◽  
Auditory Verbal Learning ◽  
Medical Histories ◽  
Learning Test

Objective: The current study assessed the effects of statin and CoQ10 supplement use on changes in cognitive functioning in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention study. Methods: 1,573 subjects were administered medical histories, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), Wechsler Memory Scale, Logical Memory subtest, and the Trail Making Test, Parts A (TMT-A) and B (TMT-B) 3-4 times over 5-10 years. Results: Linear mixed models did not yield significant effects for statin or CoQ10 supplement use on changes in mental status, learning and memory, psychomotor speed, and cognitive flexibility. Conclusions: Statin and/or CoQ10 supplement use was not associated with neuropsychological test performance in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention study.

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