The Association between the Binding Processes of Working Memory and Vascular Risk Profile in Adults

Abstract

Episodic buffer (EB), a key component of working memory, seems to have a rather complicated function as part of binding processes. Recent papers on the field claim that binding processes of working memory (WM) are assisted by attention and executive functions. On the same page, vascular pathology is gaining more ground as the main underlying cause for many brain pathologies. Hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, lack of exercise and smoking are the most common risk factors that people of all ages suffer from and constitute the main vascular risk factors responsible for a possible decline in executive functions and attention. Thus, this research is an attempt to examine the relation between the binding functions of WM and the existence of vascular risk factors via a computerized test focusing on feature binding. The study comprised adults (n = 229) with and without vascular risk factors. The main tools used were a biomarker questionnaire and a feature binding test (FBT). The results showed that participants who report suffering from one or more vascular risk factors had significantly lower performance on specific subtasks of the FBT in comparison to the participants who were healthy. This allows us to assume that there might be a positive association between feature binding and a vascular risk profile in adults, and such a test could be a useful diagnostic tool for early cognitive impairment due to incipient vascular pathology.

Aging and feature binding in visual working memory

“…The examination of feature binding in aging is also pertinent for clinical reasons. Indeed, feature binding of WM representations has been proposed as a marker for AD (Parra et al, 2010 , 2011 ; Cecchini et al, 2022 for a review) and for individuals at vascular risk (Bika et al, 2021 ). Research has found individuals with AD, and asymptomatic carriers, to indicate decreased hippocampal volume associated with object-to-location binding impairments (Liang et al, 2016 ).…”

Trajectories of Cognitive Impairment in Adults Bearing Vascular Risk Factors, with or without Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment: Findings from a Longitudinal Study Assessing Executive Functions, Memory, and Social Cognition

“…Several studies [ 28 , 45 ] have argued that working memory is an important predictor of progression from MCI to AD dementia. Regarding impaired working memory in vascular aging, its correlation with vascular risk factors has been explored [ 46 ]; adults bearing vascular risk factors had significantly lower performance on binding functions of working memory. The basis of the correlation is given through pathologic changes to the macro- and microvasculature, which could disrupt blood vessel integrity, secondarily causing neuronal injury, structural and functional brain damage.…”