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Experimental Gerontology Jun 2024Given the established association between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment was mainly in the older and oldest-old population or people with relatively limited...
BACKGROUND
Given the established association between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment was mainly in the older and oldest-old population or people with relatively limited education, this study extends the investigation to community-dwelling middle-to-old age adults in urban communities, emphasizing the need for preventive intervention for muscle health and healthy longevity.
METHODS
Data of 712 participants from the Gan-Dau Healthy Longevity Plan were retrieved for analysis, and all participants were stratified by age (50-64, 65-74 and 75+ years old). Possible sarcopenia was defined by 2019 consensus report of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS). This study used four neuropsychological tests for analysis, i.e., Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), California Verbal Learning Test II (CVLT-SF), Digital Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) and Verbal fluency (VF) for global and domain-specific cognitive function. Multivariate generalized linear models (GLMs) were employed to investigate the associations between possible sarcopenia and cognitive function in each age-specific groups.
RESULTS
The prevalence of possible sarcopenia increased with age, with 31.8 %, 37.7 %, and 55.6 % in participants aged 5064, 65-74 and, 75+ years, respectively. On the other hand, cognitive performance declined with age. In particular, among participants aged 75+ years with possible sarcopenia, their cognitive performance were poorer than robust counterparts, including MMSE (26.6 [3.4] vs. 27.4 [2.6]), CVTL-SF (total score: 21.5 [5.4] vs. 23.8 [5.5]; 30-second delayed recall: 6.0 [1.7] vs. 6.5 [1.6]), DSST (32.8 [14.3] vs. 41.3 [18.7]), and VF (12.8 [5.1] vs. 14.8 [4.9]). Multivariate generalized linear model indicated that possible sarcopenia was associated with lower MMSE (β: -0.70, p = 0.014) and lower DSST (β: -7.00, p = 0.010) in those aged 50-64 years. Moreover, possible sarcopenia was associated with lower CVLT-SF (total score β:-1.90, p = 0.028), lower DSST (β: -6.45, p < 0.001), and lower VF (β: -1.64, p=0.026) in 75+ years group.
CONCLUSIONS
An association exists between possible sarcopenia and cognitive impairment, encompassing global cognition, delayed memory, verbal fluency, and executive function, among community-dwelling adults of mid-to-old age. Future research is warranted to explore the temporal alterations in this association and the potential effects of interventions aimed at fostering healthy longevity.
PubMed: 38879092
DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2024.112487 -
Molecular Brain Jun 2024Memory retrieval can become difficult over time, but it is important to note that memories that appear to be forgotten might still be stored in the brain, as shown by...
Memory retrieval can become difficult over time, but it is important to note that memories that appear to be forgotten might still be stored in the brain, as shown by their occasional spontaneous retrieval. Histamine in the central nervous system is a promising target for facilitating the recovery of memory retrieval. Our previous study demonstrated that histamine H3 receptor (H3R) inverse agonists/antagonists, activating histamine synthesis and release, enhance activity in the perirhinal cortex and help in retrieving forgotten long-term object recognition memories. However, it is unclear whether enhancing histaminergic activity alone is enough for the recovery of memory retrieval, considering that H3Rs are also located in other neuron types and affect the release of multiple neurotransmitters. In this study, we employed a chemogenetic method to determine whether specifically activating histamine neurons in the tuberomammillary nucleus facilitates memory retrieval. In the novel object recognition test, control mice did not show a preference for objects based on memory 1 week after training, but chemogenetic activation of histamine neurons before testing improved memory retrieval. This selective activation did not affect the locomotor activity or anxiety-related behavior. Administering an H2R antagonist directly into the perirhinal cortex inhibited the recovery of memory retrieval induced by the activation of histamine neurons. Furthermore, we utilized the Barnes maze test to investigate whether chemogenetic activation of histamine neurons influences the retrieval of forgotten spatial memories. Control mice explored all the holes in the maze equally 1 week after training, whereas mice with chemogenetically activated histamine neurons spent more time around the target hole. These findings indicate that chemogenetic activation of histamine neurons in the tuberomammillary nucleus can promote retrieval of seemingly forgotten object recognition and spatial memories.
Topics: Animals; Histamine; Neurons; Male; Mental Recall; Memory; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice; Anxiety; Hypothalamic Area, Lateral; Histamine H2 Antagonists; Recognition, Psychology
PubMed: 38877480
DOI: 10.1186/s13041-024-01111-8 -
Progress in Brain Research 2024Verbal short-term and long-term memory are crucial neuropsychological functions involved in core cognitive abilities. They constitute vital components of subjective...
Verbal short-term and long-term memory are crucial neuropsychological functions involved in core cognitive abilities. They constitute vital components of subjective well-being and academic achievement. To date, there is limited research on the association between regular physical activity and memory abilities during young adulthood. The Individual Alpha Peak Frequency (IAPF) contributes to various cognitive abilities and also appears to be sensitive to physical activity. Consequently, the IAPF has the potential to underlie the association between physical activity and verbal memory. We examined the direct relation of physical activity and verbal memory, and the potential indirect relation via IAPF in young adults. Regular physical activity was assessed via accelerometry on seven consecutive days in 115 participants (N=115, 48% female) aged 18-35 years (M=24.1, SD=3.8). In addition, verbal memory performance was assessed using an immediate and delayed free-recall task. Brain activity during rest was recorded with EEG, and IAPF was extracted for mediation analyses. Path analysis revealed pronounced sex differences in the association between physical activity, IAPF, and verbal memory performance. Exclusively in female participants, higher vigorous physical activity levels were associated with better recall performance. In contrast, no association of physical activity and memory was found in male participants. However, being more physically active was related to a higher IAPF exclusively in male participants. Physical activity shows differential associations between IAPF and verbal memory in male and female participants. However, the lack of a mediating role of IAPF suggests that this neurophysiological marker cannot explain these specific associations in young adults.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Young Adult; Adult; Adolescent; Exercise; Brain; Electroencephalography; Accelerometry; Rest; Verbal Learning; Memory; Sex Characteristics; Mental Recall; Alpha Rhythm
PubMed: 38876578
DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2024.01.006 -
Cortex; a Journal Devoted To the Study... May 2024Postpartum psychosis is a rare but serious condition that can affect women after childbirth. We present a case study of an individual with no comorbidities or...
Postpartum psychosis is a rare but serious condition that can affect women after childbirth. We present a case study of an individual with no comorbidities or psychiatric history who developed postpartum psychosis characterised by prominent misidentification delusions whilst admitted to hospital. The woman recovered quickly with medication and showed no evidence of relapse over the following three years. Whilst still symptomatic and after recovery, the patient was able to provide a detailed description of her experiences. Contemporaneous interviews and observations during her hospital admission and a subsequent detailed retrospective account provide a unique, comprehensive window into her experience of these time-limited delusions. Her case reveals important insights including the triggers for her misidentification delusions, the role of social and contextual influences on delusional beliefs, and her recall of active involvement in evaluating and discarding delusional hypotheses. These insights highlight the complexity of delusional beliefs, challenge existing theories of delusions, and help inform broader theories of belief formation.
PubMed: 38875734
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.04.018 -
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease : JAD 2024Amnestic syndrome of the hippocampal type (ASHT) in Memory Clinics is a presentation common to Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, ASHT can be found in other...
BACKGROUND
Amnestic syndrome of the hippocampal type (ASHT) in Memory Clinics is a presentation common to Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, ASHT can be found in other neurodegenerative disorders.
OBJECTIVE
To compare brain morphometry including hippocampal volumes between amnestic older adults with and without AD pathology and investigate their relationship with memory performance and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers.
METHODS
Brain morphometry of 92 consecutive patients (72.5±6.8 years old; 39% female) with Free and Cued Selective Recall Reminding Test (FCSRT) total recall < 40/48 was assessed with an automated algorithm and compared between AD and non-AD patients, as defined by CSF biomarkers.
RESULTS
AD and non-AD patients presented comparable brain morphology. Total recall was associated to hippocampal volume irrespectively from AD pathology.
CONCLUSIONS
Brain morphometry, including hippocampal volumes, is similar between AD and non-AD older adults with ASHT evaluated in a Memory Clinic, underlying the importance of using molecular biomarkers for the diagnosis of AD.
Topics: Humans; Female; Aged; Male; Alzheimer Disease; Amnesia; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Hippocampus; Brain; Biomarkers; Neuropsychological Tests; Aged, 80 and over; Mental Recall; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Organ Size
PubMed: 38875037
DOI: 10.3233/JAD-240026 -
Animal Cognition Jun 2024Although events are not always known to be important when they occur, people can remember details about such incidentally encoded information using episodic memory....
Although events are not always known to be important when they occur, people can remember details about such incidentally encoded information using episodic memory. Sheridan et al. (2024) argued that rats replayed episodic memories of incidentally encoded information in an unexpected assessment of memory. In one task, rats reported the third-last item in an explicitly encoded list of trial-unique odors. In a second task, rats foraged in a radial maze in the absence of odors. On a critical test, rats foraged in the maze, but scented lids covered the food. Next, memory of the third-last odor was assessed. The rats correctly answered the unexpected question. Because the odors used in the critical test were the same as those used during training, automatically encoding odors for the purpose of taking an upcoming test of memory (stimulus generalization) may have been encouraged. Here, we provided an opportunity for incidental encoding of novel odors. Previously trained rats foraged in the radial maze with entirely novel odors covering the food. Next, memory of the third-last odor was assessed. The rats correctly answered the unexpected question. High accuracy when confronted with novel odors provides evidence that the rats did not automatically encode odors for the purpose of taking an upcoming test, ruling out stimulus generalization. We conclude that rats encode multiple pieces of putatively unimportant information, and later replayed a stream of novel episodic memories when that information was needed to solve an unexpected problem.
Topics: Animals; Odorants; Rats; Male; Maze Learning; Memory, Episodic; Olfactory Perception; Rats, Long-Evans; Mental Recall
PubMed: 38874623
DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01880-8 -
AJNR. American Journal of Neuroradiology Jun 2024Verbal memory decline is a common complaint of patients with severe asymptomatic stenosis of the internal carotid artery (aICS). Previous publications explored the...
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Verbal memory decline is a common complaint of patients with severe asymptomatic stenosis of the internal carotid artery (aICS). Previous publications explored the associations between verbal memory decline and altered functional connectivity (FC) after aICS. Patients with severe aICS may show reduced perfusion in the ipsilateral territory and redistribution of cerebral blood flow to compensate for the deficient regions, including expansion of the posterior and contralateral ICA territories via the circle of Willis. However, aICS-related FC changes in anterior and posterior territories and the impact of the sides of stenosis were less explored. This study aims to investigate the altered FC in anterior and posterior circulation territories of patients with left or right unilateral aICS and its association with verbal memory decline.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We enrolled 15 healthy controls (HCs), 22 patients with left aICS (aICS), and 33 patients with right aICS (aICS) to receive fMRI, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Digit Span Test (DST), and the 12-item Chinese version of Verbal Learning Tests. We selected brain regions associated with verbal memory within anterior and posterior circulation territories. Territory-related FC alterations and verbal memory decline were identified by comparing the aICS and aICS groups with HC groups (< .05, corrected for multiple comparisons), respectively. Furthermore, the association between altered FC and verbal memory decline was tested with the Pearson correlation analysis.
RESULTS
Compared with HCs, patients with aICS or aICS had significant impairment in delayed recall of verbal memory. Decline in delayed recall of verbal memory was significantly associated with altered FC between the right cerebellum and right middle temporal pole in the posterior circulation territory ( = 0.40, = .03) in the aICS group and was significantly associated with altered FC between the right superior medial frontal gyrus and left lingual gyrus in the anterior circulation territory ( = 0.56, = .01) in the aICS group.
CONCLUSIONS
Patients with aICS and aICS showed different patterns of FC alterations in both anterior and posterior circulation territories, which suggests that the side of aICS influences the compensatory mechanism for decline in delayed recall of verbal memory.
PubMed: 38871370
DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.A8248 -
Noro Psikiyatri Arsivi 2024In this study, we aimed to examine the relationship between decision-making processes and other cognitive characteristics associated with Borderline Personality Disorder...
INTRODUCTION
In this study, we aimed to examine the relationship between decision-making processes and other cognitive characteristics associated with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) in comparison with healthy controls by using the neurocognitive tests.
METHOD
The sample of the study consists of the patient group diagnosed with BPD (n=27) and the voluntary participants without any psychiatric diagnosis (n=28). Borderline Personality Inventory (BPI) was used for psychiatric evaluation, and Iowa Gambling Test (IGT), Stroop Test, Benton Face Recognition Test, Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, Dokuz Eylül Theory of Mind Scale (DEToM), WMS-R Digit Span and Logical Memory Subscales were administered for neuropsychological examination.
RESULTS
A significant difference was found between the BPD and the control group in BPI scores (p=0.02). There were no significant differences on the duration of interference and the number of errors in the Stroop Test, but it was observed that the number of spontaneous correction responses differed significantly (p=0.02) between the groups. A significant difference was revealed (p<0.01) in the immediate recall scores of the WMS-R Logical Memory (subtest story A) between the groups. There were also differences in the Iowa Gambling Test between the groups in the response tendency to choose from deck A (p=0.028) in the first half and from deck B (p=0.03) in the second half of the test. Finally, among the total scores of DEToM there was significant difference between the two groups (p<0.01), and this difference was prominent in the second-degree false belief (p=0.024) and empathy (p=0.027) tasks.
CONCLUSION
As a result of our study, it was concluded that individuals with BPD have minimal difficulty in inhibiting inappropriate response, and this difficulty is related to making disadvantageous choices in decision-making behavior. While BPD group was successful in predicting mental states from external cues in terms of social cognition, however, it was observed that they had difficulty integrating cues within a social pattern and making coherent narratives.
PubMed: 38868843
DOI: 10.29399/npa.28439 -
Nature Jun 2024A cognitive map is a suitably structured representation that enables novel computations using previous experience; for example, planning a new route in a familiar space....
A cognitive map is a suitably structured representation that enables novel computations using previous experience; for example, planning a new route in a familiar space. Work in mammals has found direct evidence for such representations in the presence of exogenous sensory inputs in both spatial and non-spatial domains. Here we tested a foundational postulate of the original cognitive map theory: that cognitive maps support endogenous computations without external input. We recorded from the entorhinal cortex of monkeys in a mental navigation task that required the monkeys to use a joystick to produce one-dimensional vectors between pairs of visual landmarks without seeing the intermediate landmarks. The ability of the monkeys to perform the task and generalize to new pairs indicated that they relied on a structured representation of the landmarks. Task-modulated neurons exhibited periodicity and ramping that matched the temporal structure of the landmarks and showed signatures of continuous attractor networks. A continuous attractor network model of path integration augmented with a Hebbian-like learning mechanism provided an explanation of how the system could endogenously recall landmarks. The model also made an unexpected prediction that endogenous landmarks transiently slow path integration, reset the dynamics and thereby reduce variability. This prediction was borne out in a reanalysis of firing rate variability and behaviour. Our findings link the structured patterns of activity in the entorhinal cortex to the endogenous recruitment of a cognitive map during mental navigation.
Topics: Entorhinal Cortex; Animals; Spatial Navigation; Male; Models, Neurological; Macaca mulatta; Neurons; Cognition
PubMed: 38867051
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07557-z -
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) Jun 2024When reminded of an unpleasant experience, people often try to exclude the unwanted memory from awareness, a process known as retrieval suppression. Here we used...
When reminded of an unpleasant experience, people often try to exclude the unwanted memory from awareness, a process known as retrieval suppression. Here we used multivariate decoding (MVPA) and representational similarity analyses on EEG data to track how suppression unfolds in time and to reveal its impact on item-specific cortical patterns. We presented reminders to aversive scenes and asked people to either suppress or to retrieve the scene. During suppression, mid-frontal theta power within the first 500 ms distinguished suppression from passive viewing of the reminder, indicating that suppression rapidly recruited control. During retrieval, we could discern EEG cortical patterns relating to individual memories-initially, based on theta-driven visual perception of the reminders (0 to 500 ms) and later, based on alpha-driven reinstatement of the aversive scene (500 to 3000 ms). Critically, suppressing retrieval weakened (during 360 to 600 ms) and eventually abolished item-specific cortical patterns, a robust effect that persisted until the reminder disappeared (780 to 3000 ms). Representational similarity analyses provided converging evidence that retrieval suppression weakened the representation of target scenes during the 500 to 3000 ms reinstatement window. Together, rapid top-down control during retrieval suppression abolished cortical patterns of individual memories, and precipitated later forgetting. These findings reveal a precise chronometry on the voluntary suppression of individual memories.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Young Adult; Adult; Awareness; Electroencephalography; Mental Recall; Consciousness; Memory; Visual Perception; Brain
PubMed: 38863114
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae080