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The importance of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex for associative memory in older adults: A latent structural equation analysis
Brehmer,Yvonne Nilsson,J. Berggren,Rasmus Schmiedek,Florian Lövdén,Martin
Brehmer,Yvonne
Nilsson,J.
Berggren,Rasmus
Schmiedek,Florian
Lövdén,Martin
Abstract
Older adults show relatively minor age-related decline in memory for single items, while their memory for associations is markedly reduced. Inter-individual differences in memory function in older adults are substantial but the neurobiological underpinnings of such differences are not well understood. In particular, the relative importance of inter-individual differences in the medio-temporal lobe (MTL) and the lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) for associative and item recognition in older adults is still ambiguous. We therefore aimed to first establish the distinction between inter-individual differences in associative memory (recollection-based) performance and item memory (familiarity-based) performance in older adults and subsequently link these two constructs to differences in cortical thickness in the MTL and lateral PFC regions, in a latent structural equation modelling framework. To this end, a sample of 160 older adults (65-75 years old) performed three intentional itemassociative memory tasks, of which a subsample (n = 72) additionally had cortical thickness measures in MTL and PFC regions of interest available. The results provided support for a distinction between familiarity-based item memory and recollection-based associative memory performance in older adults. Cortical thickness in the ventro-medial prefrontal cortex was positively correlated with associative recognition performance, above and beyond any relationship between item recognition performance and cortical thickness in the same region and between associative recognition performance and brain structure in the MTL (parahippocampus). The findings highlight the relative importance of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in allowing for intentional recollection-based associative memory functioning in older adults.
Description
This research was supported by a program grant from FORTE (2013–2277) and a “distinguished younger researcher” grant from the Swedish Research Council (446-2013-7189) to ML. We would like to thank Marie Helsing, Anders Rydström, Jakob Norgren, Joanna Lindström, and William Fredborg for facilitating the completion of this study.
Date
2020
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Research Projects
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Keywords
AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES, ANTERIOR HIPPOCAMPUS, Aging, Associative memory, COGNITIVE CONTROL, EPISODIC MEMORY, Familiarity, Gray matter, HEALTHY-ADULTS, HIPPOCAMPAL CONTRIBUTIONS, INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES, LIFE-SPAN, MEDIAL TEMPORAL-LOBE, RELATIONAL MEMORY, Recollection
Citation
Brehmer, Y, Nilsson, J, Berggren, R, Schmiedek, F & Lövdén, M 2020, 'The importance of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex for associative memory in older adults : A latent structural equation analysis', Neuroimage, vol. 209, 116475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116475