scholarly journals Healthy ageing reduces the precision of episodic memory retrieval

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saana M. Korkki ◽  
Franziska R. Richter ◽  
Priyanga Jeyarathnarajah ◽  
Jon S. Simons
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Memory Loss ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Everyday Objects ◽  
Continuous Response ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Memory Representations

AbstractEpisodic memory declines with older age, but it is unresolved whether this decline reflects reduced probability of successfully retrieving information from memory, or decreased precision of the retrieved information. Here, we used continuous measures of episodic memory retrieval in combination with computational modelling of participants’ retrieval errors to distinguish between these two potential accounts of age-related memory deficits. In three experiments, young and older participants encoded stimuli displays consisting of everyday objects varying along different perceptual features (e.g., location, colour and orientation) in a circular space. At test, participants recreated the features of studied objects using a continuous response dial. Across all three experiments, we observed age-related declines in the precision of episodic memory retrieval, whereas age differences in retrieval success were limited to the most challenging task condition. Reductions in mnemonic precision were evident for retrieval of both item-based and contextual information, and persisted after controlling for age-related decreases in the fidelity of perception and working memory. The findings highlight impoverished precision of memory representations as one factor contributing to age-related episodic memory loss, and suggest that the cognitive and neural changes associated with older age can differentially affect distinct aspects of episodic retrieval.

Ecologically relevant episodic memory assessment indicates an attenuated age-related memory loss – A virtual reality study.

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 680-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlon O. Pflueger ◽  
Rolf-Dieter Stieglitz ◽  
Patrick Lemoine ◽  
Thomas Leyhe
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Memory Loss ◽  
Memory Assessment ◽  
Age Related

scholarly journals Age-Related Compensatory Reconfiguration of PFC Connections during Episodic Memory Retrieval

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lifu Deng ◽  
Mathew L Stanley ◽  
Zachary A Monge ◽  
Erik A Wing ◽  
Benjamin R Geib ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Functional Integration ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Connectivity Patterns ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Related Increase

Abstract During demanding cognitive tasks, older adults (OAs) frequently show greater prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity than younger adults (YAs). This age-related increase in PFC activity is often associated with enhanced cognitive performance, suggesting functional compensation. However, the brain is a complex network of interconnected regions, and it is unclear how network connectivity of PFC regions differs for OAs versus YAs. To investigate this, we examined the age-related difference on the functional brain networks mediating episodic memory retrieval. YAs and OAs participants encoded and recalled visual scenes, and age-related differences in network topology during memory retrieval were investigated as a function of memory performance. We measured both changes in functional integration and reconfiguration in connectivity patterns. The study yielded three main findings. First, PFC regions were more functionally integrated with the rest of the brain network in OAs. Critically, this age-related increase in PFC integration was associated with better retrieval performance. Second, PFC regions showed stronger performance-related reconfiguration of connectivity patterns in OAs. Finally, the PFC reconfiguration increases in OAs tracked reconfiguration reductions in the medial temporal lobe (MTL)—a core episodic memory region, suggesting that PFC connectivity in OAs may be compensating for MTL deficits.

scholarly journals Schematic memories develop quickly, but are not expressed unless necessary

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexa Tompary ◽  
WenXi Zhou ◽  
Lila Davachi
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Fading Memory ◽  
Episodic Retrieval ◽  
Memory Representations ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Episodic memory retrieval is increasingly influenced by schematic information as memories mature, but it is unclear whether this is due to the slow formation of schemas over time, or the slow forgetting of the episodes. To address this, we separately probed memory for newly learned schemas as well as their influence on episodic memory decisions. In this experiment, participants encoded images from two categories, with the location of images in each category drawn from a different spatial distribution. They could thus learn schemas of category locations by encoding specific episodes. We found that images that were more consistent with these distributions were more precisely retrieved, and this schematic influence increased over time. However, memory for the schema distribution, measured using generalization to novel images, also became less precise over time. This incongruity suggests that schemas form rapidly, but their influence on episodic retrieval is dictated by the need to bolster fading memory representations.

scholarly journals Schematic memories develop quickly, but are not expressed unless necessary

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexa Tompary ◽  
WenXi Zhou ◽  
Lila Davachi
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Fading Memory ◽  
Episodic Retrieval ◽  
Slow Decay ◽  
Memory Representations ◽  
Over Time

Episodic memory retrieval is increasingly influenced by schematic information as memories mature, but it is unclear whether this is due to the slow formation of schemas over time, or the slow decay of the episodes. To address this, we separately probed memory for newly learned schemas as well as their influence on episodic memory decisions. In this experiment, participants encoded images from two categories, with the location of images in each category drawn from a different spatial distribution. They could thus learn schemas of category locations by encoding specific episodes. We found that images that were more consistent with these distributions were more precisely retrieved, and this schematic influence increased over time. However, memory for the schema distribution, measured using generalization to novel images, also became less precise over time. This incongruity suggests that schemas form rapidly, but their influence on episodic retrieval is dictated by the need to bolster fading memory representations.

scholarly journals Hippocampal-cortical encoding activity predicts the precision of episodic memory

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saana M. Korkki ◽  
Franziska R. Richter ◽  
Jon S. Simons
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Memory Formation ◽  
Continuous Scale ◽  
Neuroimaging Data ◽  
Memory Representations ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
Object Features ◽  
Memory Precision

AbstractOur recollections of past experiences can vary both in the number of specific event details accessible from memory and the precision with which such details are reconstructed. Prior neuroimaging evidence suggests the success and precision of episodic recollection to rely on distinct neural substrates during memory retrieval. In contrast, the specific encoding mechanisms supporting later memory precision, and whether they differ from those underlying successful memory formation in general, are currently unknown. Here, we combined continuous measures of memory retrieval with model-based analyses of behavioural and neuroimaging data to tease apart the encoding correlates of successful memory formation and mnemonic precision. In the MRI scanner, participants encoded object-scene displays, and later reconstructed features of studied objects using a continuous scale. We observed overlapping encoding activity in inferior prefrontal and posterior perceptual regions to predict both which object features were later remembered versus forgotten, and the precision with which they were reconstructed from memory. In contrast, hippocampal encoding activity significantly predicted the precision, but not overall success, of subsequent memory retrieval. The current results identify a hippocampal-cortical encoding basis for episodic memory precision, and suggest a contribution of shared cortical encoding mechanisms to the formation of both accessible and precise memory representations.

scholarly journals Age-related compensatory reconfiguration of PFC connections during episodic memory retrieval

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lifu Deng ◽  
Mathew L. Stanley ◽  
Zachary A. Monge ◽  
Erik A. Wing ◽  
Benjamin R. Geib ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Functional Integration ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Activity Increase ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Functional Brain Network ◽  
Connectivity Patterns ◽  
The Brain

AbstractDuring demanding cognitive tasks, older adults (OAs) frequently show greater prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity than younger adults (YAs). This age-related PFC activity increase is often associated with enhanced cognitive performance, suggesting functional compensation. However, the brain is a complex network of interconnected regions, and it is unclear how network connectivity of PFC regions differs for OAs vs. YAs. To investigate this, we examined the age-related difference in functional brain network mediating episodic memory retrieval. YAs and OAs participants encoded and then recalled visual scenes, and age-related differences in network topology during memory retrieval were investigated as a function of memory performance. We measured both quantitative changes in functional integration and qualitative reconfiguration in connectivity patterns. The study yielded three main findings. First, PFC regions were more functionally integrated with the rest of the brain network in OAs. Critically, this age-related increase in PFC integration was associated with better retrieval performance. Second, PFC regions showed stronger performance-related reconfiguration of connectivity patterns in OAs. Finally, the magnitude of PFC reconfiguration increases in OAs tracked reconfiguration reductions in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) – a core episodic memory region, suggesting that PFC connectivity in OAs may be compensating for MTL deficits.

scholarly journals Healthy Aging diminishes the quantity (rate) and quality (precision) of episodic recollection.

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.

scholarly journals Influence of Aging on the Neural Correlates of Autobiographical, Episodic, and Semantic Memory Retrieval

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 4150-4163 ◽  
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.

Early age-related changes in episodic memory retrieval as revealed by event-related potentials

Neuroreport ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cécile Guillaume ◽  
Patrice Clochon ◽  
Pierre Denise ◽  
Géraldine Rauchs ◽  
Bérengère Guillery-Girard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Early Age ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Age Related Changes
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