Multiple determinants of lifespan memory differences
Abstract
© The Author(s) 2016.Memory problems are among the most common complaints as people
grow older. Using structural equation modeling of commensurate scores of anterograde
memory from a large (N = 315), population-derived sample (www.cam-can.org), we provide
evidence for three memory factors that are supported by distinct brain regions and
show differential sensitivity to age. Associative memory and item memory are dramatically
affected by age, even after adjusting for education level and fluid intelligence,
whereas visual priming is not. Associative memory and item memory are differentially
affected by emotional valence, and the age-related decline in associative memory is
faster for negative than for positive or neutral stimuli. Gray-matter volume in the
hippocampus, parahippocampus and fusiform cortex, and a white-matter index for the
fornix, uncinate fasciculus and inferior longitudinal fasciculus, show differential
contributions to the three memory factors. Together, these data demonstrate the extent
to which differential ageing of the brain leads to differential patterns of memory
loss.
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Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/13483Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1038/srep32527Publication Info
Henson, Richard N; Campbell, Karen L; Davis, Simon W; Taylor, Jason R; Emery, Tina;
Erzinclioglu, Sharon; ... Kievit, Rogier A (2016). Multiple determinants of lifespan memory differences. Scientific Reports, 6. 10.1038/srep32527. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/13483.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Simon Wilton Davis
Assistant Professor in Neurology
My research centers around the use of structural and functional imaging measures to
study the shifts in network architecture in the aging brain. I am specifically interested
in changes in how changes in structural and functional connectivity associated with
aging impact the semantic retrieval of word or fact knowledge. Currently this involves
asking why older adults have particular difficulty in certain kinds of semantic retrieval,
despite the fact that vocabularies and knowledge stores typic

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