Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2025

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
Published on: January 24, 2020
Clusters of cognitive performance predict long-term cognitive impairment in elderly patients with subjective memory
Adolfo Jiménez-Huete1, Rafael Villino-Rodríguez1, Mirla M Ríos-Rivera1
1Department of Neurology, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Madrid, Spain.
Introduction:
Patients with subjective memory complaints (SMC) may include subgroups with different neuropsychological profiles and risks of cognitive impairment.
Methods:
Cluster analysis was performed on two datasets (n: 630 and 734) comprising demographic and neuropsychological data from SMC and healthy controls (HC). Survival analyses were conducted on clusters. Bayesian model averaging assessed the predictive utility of clusters and other biomarkers.
Results:
Two clusters with higher and lower than average cognitive performance were detected in SMC and HC. Assignment to the lower performance cluster increased the risk of cognitive impairment in both datasets (hazard ratios: 1.78 and 2.96; Plog-rank: 0.04 and <0.001) and was associated with lower hippocampal volumes and higher tau/amyloid beta 42 ratios in cerebrospinal fluid. The effect of SMC was small and confounded by mood.
Discussion:
This study provides evidence of the presence of cognitive clusters that hold biological significance and predictive value for cognitive decline in SMC and HC.
Highlights:
Patients with subjective memory complaints include two cognitive clusters. Assignment to the lower performance cluster increases risk of cognitive impairment. This cluster shows a pattern of biomarkers consistent with incipient Alzheimer's disease pathology. The same cognitive cluster structure is found in healthy controls. The effect of memory complaints on risk of cognitive decline is small and confounded.
More Related Videos
06:23The 4 Mountains Test: A Short Test of Spatial Memory with High Sensitivity for the Diagnosis of Pre-dementia Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: October 13, 2016
07:42Dual-Task Stroop Paradigm for Detecting Cognitive Deficits in High-Functioning Stroke Patients
Published on: December 16, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Cognitive Development During Adulthood
Working Memory
Dementia
The progression of dementia is generally gradual....
Cognitive Enhancers: Cholinesterase Inhibitors and NMDA Receptor Antagonists
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ...
Long-Term Memory
Long-term memory can be categorized into two primary types: explicit and implicit memory. Explicit memory, also known as declarative memory, involves the conscious recollection of information that we deliberately try to remember, recall, and articulate. This type of memory encompasses specific facts, events, and...