Frontal Structural Neural Correlates of Working Memory Performance in Older Adults

Abstract

Working memory is an executive memory process that allows transitional information to be held and manipulated temporarily in memory stores before being forgotten or encoded into long-term memory. Working memory is necessary for everyday decision-making and problem solving, making it a fundamental process in the daily lives of older adults. Working memory relies heavily on frontal lobe structures and is known to decline with age. The current study aimed to determine the neural correlates of decreased working memory performance in the frontal lobes by comparing cortical thickness and cortical surface area from two demographically matched groups of healthy older adults, free from cognitive impairment, with high versus low N-Back working memory performance (N = 56; average age = 70.29 ± 10.64). High-resolution structural T1-weighted images (1 mm isotropic voxels) were obtained on a 3T Philips MRI scanner. When compared to high performers, low performers exhibited significantly decreased cortical surface area in three frontal lobe regions lateralized to the right hemisphere: medial orbital frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, and superior frontal gyrus (FDR p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in cortical thickness between groups, a proxy for neurodegenerative tissue loss. Our results suggest that decreases in cortical surface area (a proxy for brain structural integrity) in right frontal regions may underlie age-related decline of working memory function.

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Paired With Cognitive Training on Functional Connectivity of the Working Memory Network in Older Adults

“…Declines in working memory are commonly observed in older adults and, consequently, may cause significant negative impacts to activities of daily living and functional independence (Mograbi et al, 2014). Structural and functional changes of brain regions within the working memory network are known to occur with advanced age and have been associated with working memory decline (Cabeza et al, 2002;Nissim et al, 2017Nissim et al, , 2019. Thus, there is a strong need to identify targeted interventions that can enhance working memory processes in older adults.…”

miRNA in Circulating Microvesicles as Biomarkers for Age-Related Cognitive Decline

“…Normal aging in humans and animal models is associated with changes in specific cognitive processes. Impaired memory, executive function, and processing speed have been well-characterized with advancing age ( Alexander et al, 2012 ; Woods et al, 2013 ; Febo and Foster, 2016 ; O’Shea et al, 2016 ; Nissim et al, 2017 ; Porges et al, 2017 ). However, age-related cognitive decline is not uniform, environmental and biological factors including genes, exercise, diet, inflammation, and stress, which are thought to influence the age of onset and the trajectory of cognitive decline ( Foster, 2006 ; Barrientos et al, 2010 ; Craft et al, 2012 ; Kumar et al, 2012 ; Speisman et al, 2013 ; Cai et al, 2014 ; Fan et al, 2017 ).…”

Impact of tissue correction strategy on GABA-edited MRS findings

“…Alzheimer’s dementia), age-related atrophy will affect many people as part of the normal aging process. It is well established that even with healthy aging, brain volume declines with age (6–9). Age-related brain volume loss is not equal between tissue types (i.e., white or gray matter) and the age at which tissue volume begins to decrease also varies (10–13).…”