Openness to experience is associated with neural and performance measures of memory in older adults

Abstract

Age-related decline in episodic memory performance is a well-replicated finding across numerous studies. Recent studies focusing on aging and individual differences found that the Big Five personality trait Openness to Experience is associated with better episodic memory performance in older adults, but the associated neural mechanisms are largely unclear. Here we investigated the relationship between Openness and memory network function in a sample of 352 participants (104 older adults, 50-80 years; 209 young adults, 18-35 years). Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a visual memory encoding task. Functional memory brain-network integrity was assessed using the SAME scores (similarity of activations during memory encoding), which reflect the deviation of a participants memory network activity from prototypical fMRI activity patterns of young adults. Openness was assessed using the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Older vs. young adults showed lower memory performance and higher deviation of fMRI activity patterns (i.e., lower SAME scores). Specifically in older adults, high Openness was associated with better memory performance, and mediation analysis showed that this relationship was partially mediated by higher SAME scores. Our results suggest that trait Openness may constitute a protective factor in cognitive aging by better preservation of the brains memory network.

Single-value fMRI scores reflect both stage and risk across the Alzheimer’s disease continuum

“…That said, computing the scores from the memory contrast may nevertheless be beneficial with respect to differentiating individuals with SCD from individuals with MCI (Section “FADE and SAME scores across the AD risk continuum”). Furthermore, particularly the memory-SAME score may be suitable for the prediction of individual differences of cognitive performance in healthy older adults 39,30,65 .…”

“…Furthermore, particularly the memory-SAME score may be suitable for the prediction of individual differences of cognitive performance in healthy older adults 39,30,65 .…”