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Related Experiment Video

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Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

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Published on: May 4, 2011

Subjective memory complaints are associated with brain activation supporting successful memory encoding.

Jessica M Hayes¹, Lingfei Tang², Raymond P Viviano³

¹Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.

Neurobiology of Aging

|September 20, 2017

Summary

Older adults with memory complaints show different brain activity during memory tasks. These distinct neural mechanisms may indicate reduced attention, impacting memory formation.

Keywords:

Aging Alzheimer's disease Encoding Functional MRI Subjective memory complaints Subsequent memory effect

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology

Background:

Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) are perceived cognitive declines without clinical deficits, potentially preceding Alzheimer's disease.
Individuals with SMCs exhibit altered brain activation during memory encoding, but its role in successful memory formation is unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate differences in subsequent memory effects (SMEs) between healthy older adults with and without memory complaints.
To explore the neural mechanisms underlying memory formation in older adults experiencing SMCs.

Main Methods:

Compared SMEs during a memory encoding task in older adults (50-85 years) with (n=23) and without (n=41) memory complaints.
Analyzed brain activation patterns associated with successful memory encoding (hits vs. misses).

Main Results:

Older adults with SMCs exhibited lower SMEs in the occipital lobe, superior parietal lobe, and posterior cingulate cortex compared to controls.
Increased memory complaints correlated with more negative SMEs in default mode network regions (posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex).

Conclusions:

Successful memory formation in older adults with SMCs involves distinct neural mechanisms.
These findings suggest reduced task-directed attention in older adults with SMCs, potentially explaining altered neural activity during memory encoding.