Effect of normal aging on rate of forgetting.

The aim of the study was to investigate whether age affects visual memory retention across extended time intervals. In addition, we wanted to study how memory capabilities across different time intervals are related to the volume of different neuroanatomical structures (right hippocampus, right cortex, right white matter). One test of recognition (CVMT) and one test of recall (Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test) were administered, giving measures of immediate recognition/recall, 20-30 min recognition/recall, and recognition/recall at a mean of 75 days. Volumetric measures of right hemisphere hippocampus, cortex, and white matter were obtained through an automated labelling procedure of MRI recordings. Results did not demonstrate a steeper rate of forgetting for older participants when the retention intervals were increased, indicating that older people have spared ability to retain information in the long-term store. Differences in neuroanatomical volumes could explain up to 36% of the variance in memory performance, but were not significantly related to rates of forgetting. Cortical volume and hippocampal volume were in some cases independent as predictors of memory function. Generally, cortical volume was a better predictor of recognition memory than hippocampal volume, while the 2 structures did not differ in their predictive power of recall abilities. While neuroanatomical volumetric differences can explain some of the differences in memory functioning between younger and older persons, the hippocampus does not seem to be unique in this respect.

Section: Forgetting Through the Life-spanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tombaugh & Hubley, 2001). Especially, there is a decrement in the ability to acquire new information (Trahan & Larrabee, 1992). In addition, studies have examined forgetting in older persons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age does not increase rate of forgetting over weeks—Neuroanatomical volumes and visual memory across the adult life-span

Fjell

Walhovd

Reinvang

et al. 2005

“…Women generally outperform men on virtually every type of verbal memory task. These sex differences have been documented at all ages (Kramer et al, 1997;Trahan & Larrabee, 1992) and are unrelated to measures of intelligence or verbal ability (Herlitz et al, 1999;Kramer et al, 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…There is ample evidence for a fairly linear and inverse relationship between verbal memory performance and normal aging (Trahan & Larrabee, 1992). These changes have been observable using a range of tasks, including immediate and delayed recall of lists, stories, and verbal paired associates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age and gender interactions on verbal memory performance

Kramer¹,

Yaffe²,

Lengenfelder³

et al. 2003

Age and gender effects on verbal episodic memory are well established. However, the possibility of interactions between age and gender has been raised by studies linking estrogen and verbal memory performance, and by research suggesting gender differences in age-related cortical atrophy. We evaluated whether age by gender interactions in verbal memory were present. Subjects within three years of the median age of menopause were excluded from a large cohort of normal subjects, resulting in a younger sample (16-47 years) of 288 men and 285 women, and an older sample (55-89 years) of 201 men and 245 women. All subjects were administered the CVLT-2, a multiple-trial list-learning task. Verbal memory was negatively correlated with age for younger men, older men, and older women, but not for younger women. Multivariate analyses indicated age by gender interactions on memory for the younger group but not the older group. Results indicate that verbal memory declines with age for younger men but not younger women, whereas both older men and older women show age-related declines. These findings are consistent with hypotheses linking estrogen and verbal memory performance, and with imaging data suggesting that age-related hippocampal atrophy is found in younger men but not younger women. The role of estrogen on cognition in normal aging warrants further study. (JINS, 2003, 9, 97-102.)

“…Age effects on verbal episodic memory are well established. There is ample evidence for a fairly linear and inverse relationship between verbal memory performance and normal aging (Trahan & Larrabee, 1992). These changes have been observable using a range of tasks, including immediate and delayed recall of lists, stories, and verbal paired associates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extratemporal quantitative MR volumetrics and neuropsychological status in temporal lobe epilepsy

Hermann

Seidenberg

Bell

et al. 2003

Neuropsychological studies of temporal lobe epilepsy have focused heavily on the nature and extent of memory dysfunction and its relationship to the neuropathological status of the hippocampus and related mesial temporal lobe structures. In this study, we examined whole brain and lobar quantitative MRI volumes and comprehensive neuropsychological performance in 58 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and 62 healthy controls in order to determine (1) the nature and degree of extratemporal structural abnormalities in localization-related temporal lobe epilepsy: (2) the nature and degree of cognitive abnormalities outside of anterograde memory function; and (3) the relationship of volumetric abnormalities to neuropsychological status. Temporal lobe epilepsy patients exhibited significant reduction in the volume of adjusted (age, gender, height) total cerebral tissue (-5.8%), more evident in white (-9.8%) compared to gray matter (-3.0%) tissue volumes. Significant volumetric reductions were evident across frontal, temporal and parietal but not occipital lobe regions. Subarachnoid but not total ventricular CSF was significantly increased in epilepsy patients. Neuropsychological abnormality was generalized in nature, consistent with the generalized nature of the morphometric abnormalities, and reductions in cerebral tissue volumes were directly associated with poorer cognitive performance. In summary, patients with temporal lobe epilepsy exhibited clinically significant structural and functional abnormalities that extended outside the epileptogenic temporal lobe. The degree to which these structural and cognitive abnormalities are due to factors that cause the epilepsy, as opposed to reflecting the consequences of chronic epilepsy (e.g., duration and severity of epilepsy), remain to be determined.