scholarly journals The Combined Effect of APOE and BDNF Val66Met Polymorphisms on Spatial Navigation in Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 1473-1492
Author(s):  
Jan Laczó ◽  
Katerina Cechova ◽  
Martina Parizkova ◽  
Ondrej Lerch ◽  
Ross Andel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Brain Aging ◽  
Spatial Navigation ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Brain Mri ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Real Space ◽  
Egocentric Navigation

Background: The apolipoprotein E (APOE) ɛ4 allele is associated with episodic memory and spatial navigation deficits. The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Met allele may further worsen memory impairment in APOE ɛ4 carriers but its role in APOE ɛ4-related spatial navigation deficits has not been established. Objective: We examined influence of APOE and BDNF Val66Met polymorphism combination on spatial navigation and volumes of selected navigation-related brain regions in cognitively unimpaired (CU) older adults and those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Methods: 187 participants (aMCI [n = 116] and CU [n = 71]) from the Czech Brain Aging Study were stratified based on APOE and BDNF Val66Met polymorphisms into four groups: ɛ4–/BDNFVal/Val, ɛ4–/BDNFMet, ɛ4+/BDNFVal/Val, and ɛ4+/BDNFMet. The participants underwent comprehensive neuropsychological examination, brain MRI, and spatial navigation testing of egocentric, allocentric, and allocentric delayed navigation in a real-space human analogue of the Morris water maze. Results: Among the aMCI participants, the ɛ4+/BDNFMet group had the least accurate egocentric navigation performance (p < 0.05) and lower verbal memory performance than the ɛ4–/BDNFVal/Val group (p = 0.007). The ɛ4+/BDNFMet group had smaller hippocampal and entorhinal cortical volumes than the ɛ4–/BDNFVal/Val (p≤0.019) and ɛ4–/BDNFMet (p≤0.020) groups. Among the CU participants, the ɛ4+/BDNFMet group had less accurate allocentric and allocentric delayed navigation performance than the ɛ4–/BDNFVal/Val group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The combination of APOE ɛ4 and BDNF Met polymorphisms is associated with more pronounced egocentric navigation impairment and atrophy of the medial temporal lobe regions in individuals with aMCI and less accurate allocentric navigation in CU older adults.

APOE ɛ4 Allele Moderates the Association Between Basal Forebrain Nuclei Volumes and Allocentric Navigation in Older Adults Without Dementia

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Ondrej Lerch ◽  
Martina Pařízková ◽  
Martin Vyhnálek ◽  
Zuzana Nedelská ◽  
Jakub Hort ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Basal Forebrain ◽  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Brain Aging ◽  
Late Onset ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Real Space ◽  
Complex Model ◽  
E4 Allele

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.

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.

The Impact of Stereotype Threat on Memory and Cognition in Older Adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 019394592110297
Author(s):  
Graham J. McDougall ◽  
Todd B. Monroe ◽  
Keenan A. Pituch ◽  
Michael A. Carter ◽  
Laurie Abbott
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Stereotype Threat ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Training Group ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Bivariate Correlation ◽  
The Impact

Cultural stereotypes that equate aging with decreased competence and increased forgetfulness have persisted for decades. Stereotype threat (ST) refers to the psychological discomfort people experience when confronted by a negative, self-relevant stereotype in a situation where their behavior could be construed as confirming that belief. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of ST on memory performance in older adults over 24 months. The ST levels on average significantly declined, or improved in the memory training, but not the health training group. Although not significant at the .01 level, the bivariate correlation indicated that change in ST was moderately related to change in verbal memory, suggesting the possibility that improvements (or reductions) in ST may be related to increases in verbal memory scores. We discovered that the unique contribution of ST into the memory performance of healthy older adults offers a possible malleable trait.

scholarly journals Resting‐State EEG Microstates Parallel Age‐Related Differences in Allocentric Spatial Working Memory Performance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeline Jabès ◽  
Giuliana Klencklen ◽  
Paolo Ruggeri ◽  
Christoph M. Michel ◽  
Pamela Banta Lavenex ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Age Related

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.

scholarly journals Spatial inhibition of return is impaired in mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer’s disease

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiong Jiang ◽  
James H. Howard ◽  
G. Wiliam Rebeck ◽  
R. Scott Turner
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Inhibition Of Return ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
List Type ◽  
Older Individuals

ABSTRACTSpatial inhibition of return (IOR) refers to the phenomenon by which individuals are slower to respond to stimuli appearing at a previously cued location compared to un-cued locations. Here we provide evidence supporting that spatial IOR is mildly impaired in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and the impairment is readily detectable using a novel double cue paradigm. Furthermore, reduced spatial IOR in high-risk healthy older individuals is associated with reduced memory and other neurocognitive task performance, suggesting that the novel double cue spatial IOR paradigm may be useful in detecting MCI and early AD.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTNovel double cue spatial inhibition of return (IOR) paradigm revealed a robust effect IOR deficits in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD)Spatial IOR effect correlates with memory performance in healthy older adults at a elevated risk of Alzheimer’s disease (with a family history or APOE e4 allele)The data suggests that double cue spatial IOR may be sensitive to detect early AD pathological changes, which may be linked to disease progress at the posterior brain regions (rather than the medial temporal lobe)

scholarly journals Egocentric Navigation Abilities Predict Episodic Memory Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgia Committeri ◽  
Agustina Fragueiro ◽  
Maria Maddalena Campanile ◽  
Marco Lagatta ◽  
Ford Burles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Semantic Memory ◽  
Path Integration ◽  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Declarative Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Egocentric Navigation

The medial temporal lobe supports both navigation and declarative memory. On this basis, a theory of phylogenetic continuity has been proposed according to which episodic and semantic memories have evolved from egocentric (e.g., path integration) and allocentric (e.g., map-based) navigation in the physical world, respectively. Here, we explored the behavioral significance of this neurophysiological model by investigating the relationship between the performance of healthy individuals on a path integration and an episodic memory task. We investigated the path integration performance through a proprioceptive Triangle Completion Task and assessed episodic memory through a picture recognition task. We evaluated the specificity of the association between performance in these two tasks by including in the study design a verbal semantic memory task. We also controlled for the effect of attention and working memory and tested the robustness of the results by including alternative versions of the path integration and semantic memory tasks. We found a significant positive correlation between the performance on the path integration the episodic, but not semantic, memory tasks. This pattern of correlation was not explained by general cognitive abilities and persisted also when considering a visual path integration task and a non-verbal semantic memory task. Importantly, a cross-validation analysis showed that participants' egocentric navigation abilities reliably predicted episodic memory performance. Altogether, our findings support the hypothesis of a phylogenetic continuity between egocentric navigation and episodic memory and pave the way for future research on the potential causal role of egocentric navigation on multiple forms of episodic memory.

scholarly journals Cross-sectional associations of tau-PET signal with cognition in cognitively unimpaired adults

Neurology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. e29-e39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Val J. Lowe ◽  
Tyler J. Bruinsma ◽  
Heather J. Wiste ◽  
Hoon-Ki Min ◽  
Stephen D. Weigand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Entorhinal Cortex ◽  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Standardized Uptake Value ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Amyloid Pet ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Tau Pet

ObjectiveTo assess cross-sectional associations of neurofibrillary tangles, measured by tau-PET, with cognitive performance in cognitively unimpaired (CU) adults.MethodsTau- and amyloid-PET were performed in 579 CU participants aged 50–98 from the population-based Mayo Clinic Study of Aging. Associations between tau-PET signal in 43 brain regions and cognitive test scores were assessed using penalized linear regression. In additional models, participants were classified by normal/abnormal global amyloid-PET (A+/A−) and normal/abnormal regional tau-PET (T+/T−). Regional tau-PET cutpoints were defined as standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) greater than the 95th percentile of tau-PET SUVR in that region among 117 CU participants aged 30–49.ResultsHigher tau-PET signal was associated with poorer memory performance in all medial temporal lobe (MTL) regions and also in the middle temporal pole and frontal olfactory regions. The largest association with tau-PET and memory z scores was seen in the entorhinal cortex; this association was independent of tau-PET signal in other brain regions. Tau-PET in the entorhinal cortex was also associated with poorer global and language performance. In the entorhinal cortex, T+ was associated with lower memory performance among both A− and A+.ConclusionsTau deposition in MTL regions, as reflected by tau-PET signal, was associated with poorer performance on memory tests in CU participants. The association with entorhinal cortex tau-PET was independent of tau-PET signal in other brain regions. Longitudinal studies are needed to understand the fate of CU participants with elevated medial temporal tau-PET signal.

scholarly journals Czech Brain Aging Study (CBAS): prospective multicentre cohort study on risk and protective factors for dementia in the Czech Republic

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. e030379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katerina Sheardova ◽  
Martin Vyhnalek ◽  
Zuzana Nedelska ◽  
Jan Laczo ◽  
Ross Andel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Aging ◽  
Spatial Navigation ◽  
Brain Mri ◽  
University Hospitals ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Central Eastern Europe ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Aging Study ◽  
Memory Clinics ◽  
Relationship Of

PurposeIdentification of demographic, physical/physiological, lifestyle and genetic factors contributing to the onset of dementia, specifically Alzheimer disease (AD), and implementation of novel methods for early diagnosis are important to alleviate prevalence of dementia globally. The Czech Brain Aging Study (CBAS) is the first large, prospective study to address these issues in Central/Eastern Europe by enrolling non-demented adults aged 55+ years, collecting a variety of personal and biological measures and tracking cognitive function over time.ParticipantsThe CBAS recruitment was initiated in 2011 from memory clinics at Brno and Prague University Hospitals, and by the end of 2018, the study included 1228 participants. Annual follow-ups include collection of socioeconomic, lifestyle and personal history information, neurology, neuropsychology, laboratory, vital sign and brain MRI data. In a subset, biomarker assessment (cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and amyloid positron emission tomography) and spatial navigation were performed. Participants were 69.7±8.1 years old and had 14.6±3.3 years of education at baseline, and 59% were women. By the end of 2018, 31% finished three and more years of follow-up; 9% converted to dementia. Apolipoprotein E status is available from 95% of the participants. The biological sample bank linked to CBAS database contained CSF, serum and DNA.Findings to dateOverall, the findings, mainly from cross-sectional analyses, indicate that spatial navigation is a promising marker of early AD and that it can be distinguished from other cognitive functions. Specificity of several standard memory tests for early AD pathology was assessed with implications for clinical practice. The relationship of various lifestyle factors to cognition and brain atrophy was reported.Future plansRecruitment is ongoing with secured funding. Longitudinal data analyses are currently being conducted. Proposals for collaboration on specific data from the database or biospecimen, as well as collaborations with similar cohort studies to increase sample size, are welcome. Study details are available online (www.cbas.cz).

Visual and Auditory Verbal Memory in Older Adults: Comparing Postlingually Deaf Cochlear Implant Users to Normal-Hearing Controls

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 3865-3876
Author(s):  
Michal Icht ◽  
Yaniv Mama ◽  
Riki Taitelbaum-Swead
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Auditory Task ◽  
No Production ◽  
Memory Strategies ◽  
Open Set ◽  
Auditory Tasks

Purpose The aim of this study was to test whether a group of older postlingually deafened cochlear implant users (OCIs) use similar verbal memory strategies to those used by older normal-hearing adults (ONHs). Verbal memory functioning was assessed in the visual and auditory modalities separately, enabling us to eliminate possible modality-based biases. Method Participants performed two separate visual and auditory verbal memory tasks. In each task, the visually or aurally presented study words were learned by vocal production (saying aloud) or by no production (reading silently or listening), followed by a free recall test. Twenty-seven older adults (> 60 years) participated (OCI = 13, ONH = 14), all of whom demonstrated intact cognitive abilities. All OCIs showed good open-set speech perception results in quiet. Results Both ONHs and OCIs showed production benefits (higher recall rates for vocalized than nonvocalized words) in the visual and auditory tasks. The ONHs showed similar production benefits in the visual and auditory tasks. The OCIs demonstrated a smaller production effect in the auditory task. Conclusions These results may indicate that different modality-specific memory strategies were used by the ONHs and the OCIs. The group differences in memory performance suggest that, even when deafness occurs after the completion of language acquisition, the reduced and distorted external auditory stimulation leads to a deterioration in the phonological representation of sounds. Possibly, this deterioration leads to a less efficient auditory long-term verbal memory.

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