Theories of Memory and Aging: A Look at the Past and a Glimpse of the Future

Park, Denise C.; Festini, Sara B.

doi:10.1093/geronb/gbw066

Cited by 183 publications

(99 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…Recent evidence shows that these varied aspects of attention and memory also appear to age differentially. Research on memory is well covered by Park and Festini (2016), so we will describe some highlights of the "attention and aging" literature in the present introductory article. Early theoretical statements concerning the nature of human attention were put forward by Broadbent (1958), Treisman (1964), and Kahneman (1973), with the first two focusing on selection and the last on arousal and effort.…”

Section: Cognitive Aging Theory: Evolution Since the Mid-1960smentioning

confidence: 99%

50 Years of Cognitive Aging Theory

Anderson

Craik

2016

GERONB

108

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Objectives: The objectives of this Introduction to the Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences special issue on "50 Years of Cognitive Aging Theory" are to provide a brief overview of cognitive aging research prior to 1965 and to highlight significant developments in cognitive aging theory over the last 50 years. Method: Historical and recent theories of cognitive aging were reviewed, with a particular focus on those not directly covered by the articles included in this special issue. Results: Prior to 1965, cognitive aging research was predominantly descriptive, identifying what aspects of intellectual functioning are affected in older compared with younger adults. Since the mid-1960s, there has been an increasing interest in how and why specific components of cognitive domains are differentially affected in aging and a growing focus on cognitive aging neuroscience. Discussion: Significant advances have taken place in our theoretical understanding of how and why certain components of cognitive functioning are or are not affected by aging. We also know much more now than we did 50 years ago about the underlying neural mechanisms of these changes. The next 50 years undoubtedly will bring new theories, as well as new tools (e.g., neuroimaging advances, neuromodulation, and technology), that will further our understanding of cognitive aging.

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Section: Cognitive Aging Theory: Evolution Since the Mid-1960smentioning

confidence: 99%

50 Years of Cognitive Aging Theory

Anderson

Craik

2016

GERONB

108

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“…and modifiable factors (lifestyles, prolonged stress, etc.) (e.g., [3]), and it is usually manifested by mnestic difficulties [4], poor mental flexibility [5] and lower ability to inhibit responses [6]. Several authors tried to investigate the causes of this physiological, cognitive decline, highlighting that ageing is characterised by volumetric reduction of grey and white matter [7], decrease of dopamine levels [8], presence of oxidative stress [9], and cardiovascular dysfunctions of both the arterial blood pressure [10] and the heart rate variability [11,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Blood Pressure on Cognitive Performance: A Systematic Review

Forte

Pascalis

Favieri

et al. 2019

JCM

100

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Background: High blood pressure has been associated with an increased risk of developing cognitive impairment. However, this relationship is unclear. This study aims to systematically review the effects of blood pressure on executive functioning, language, memory, attention and processing speed. Methods: The review process was conducted according to the PRISMA-Statement, using the PubMed, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES and MEDLINE databases. Restrictions were made by selecting studies, which included one or more cognitive measures and reported blood pressure recordings. Studies that included participants with medical conditions or people diagnosed with dementia, psychiatric disorders, stroke and head trauma were excluded. The review allows selecting fifty studies that included 107,405 participants. The results were reported considering different cognitive domains separately: global cognitive functioning, attention, processing speed, executive functions, memory and visuospatial abilities. Results: Higher blood pressure appears to influence cognitive performance in different domains in the absence of dementia and severe cardiovascular diseases, such as strokes. This relationship seems to be independent of demographic factors (gender and education), medical co-morbidity (diabetes), and psychiatric disorders (depression). Furthermore, it presents different patterns considering ageing. In the elderly, a sort of "cardiovascular paradox" is highlighted, which allows considering higher blood pressure as a protective factor for cognitive functioning. Conclusions: The results underline that higher blood pressure is associated with a higher risk of cognitive decline in people without dementia or stroke. These findings highlight the need to introduce early management of blood pressure, even in the absence of clinical hypertension, to prevent the risk of a decline of cognitive functioning typically associated with ageing. into dementia. Given the progressive ageing of the world population, the challenge of modern science is highlighted the factors associated with the evolution of cognitive impairment.Cognitive impairment appears to be amplified by several factors as the habit of smoking cigarettes [13,14], chronic use of alcohol [15], poor eating habits and obesity [16,17], inadequate exercise [18], chronic stress [19] or by some pathologies such as diabetes mellitus [20] or depression [21]. Moreover, the risk of cognitive impairment appears to increase in the presence of cardiovascular disorders, such as high blood pressure, cardiomyopathies, arteriosclerosis, cerebral infarcts and strokes [22]. Many studies have shown an association between vascular ageing indices, such as stiffness of the arteries and dysfunction of small vessels and cognitive decline [23]. The exposure to high blood pressure would damage the cerebral microcirculation, causing cognitive impairments [23].The mechanisms that can explain the relationship between high blood pressure and cognitive impairment are not wholly known. Some studies have shown associations be...

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“…Further, we observe shifts in coupling as a progression from young adulthood through old age, and these changes may reflect a continuum sleep physiology's contributions to well-documented lifelong changes in memory functions. 54 Degradation of coupled spindle timing may signal neuronal dysfunction early in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, 22 raising prospects of developing a coupling-based functional biomarker of disease pathology. Our finding that distinct subclasses of slow waves can be separated by their spindle coupling provides a mechanistic framework to further develop these methods.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Aging Slow Wave: A Shifting Amalgam of Distinct Slow Wave and Spindle Coupling Subtypes Define Slow Wave Sleep Across the Human Lifespan

McConnell

Kronberg

Teale

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Study ObjectivesSlow wave and spindle coupling supports memory consolidation, and loss of coupling is linked with cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. Coupling is proposed to be a possible biomarker of neurological disease, yet little is known about the different subtypes of coupling that normally occur throughout human development and aging. Here we identify distinct subtypes of spindles within slow wave upstates and describe their relationships with sleep stage across the human lifespan. MethodsCoupling within a cross-sectional cohort of 582 subjects was quantified from stages N2 and N3 sleep across ages 6-88 years old. Results were analyzed across the study population via mixed model regression. Within a subset of subjects, we further utilized coupling to identify discrete subtypes of slow waves by their coupled spindles. ResultsTwo different subtypes of spindles were identified during the upstates of (distinct) slow waves: an "early-fast" spindle, more common in stage N2 sleep, and a "late-fast" spindle, more common in stage N3. We further found stages N2 and N3 sleep are composed of two discrete subtypes of slow waves, each identified by their unique coupled-spindle timing and frequency. The relative contribution of coupling subtypes shifts across the human lifespan, and a deeper sleep phenotype prevails during old age. ConclusionsDistinct subtypes of slow waves and coupled spindles form the composite of slow wave sleep.Our findings support a model of sleep-dependent synaptic regulation via discrete slow wave/spindle coupling subtypes and advance a conceptual framework for the development of coupling-based biomarkers in age-associated neurological disease. Statement of SignificanceSlow waves of nonrapid eye movement sleep couple with sleep spindles in a process hypothesized to support memory functions. This coupling has recently gained interest as a possible biomarker of cognitive aging and onset of Alzheimer's disease. Most studies have been limited by an assumption that all slow waves (and coupled spindles) are fundamentally the same physiological events. Here we demonstrate that distinct subtypes of slow waves and their coupled spindles can be identified in human sleep. A mixture of different slow wave and spindle subtypes shifts in composition during lighter versus deeper sleep, and aging favors the deep sleep subtypes. These data should inform any future attempts to use slow wave sleep as a biomarker or clinical interventional target. Background: Slow waves occur during stages N2 and N3 Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep and are associated with large-scale synchronization of neuronal populations. 1-3 Spindlesare generated and propagated via cortical-thalamic loops, with timing input from the reticular nucleus of the thalamus. 4,5 In the process of aging, loss of slow waves and sleep spindles is highly correlated with cognitive decline, and abnormal slow wave neuronal circuitry is implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease 6 .

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Theories of Memory and Aging: A Look at the Past and a Glimpse of the Future

Cited by 183 publications

References 86 publications

50 Years of Cognitive Aging Theory

50 Years of Cognitive Aging Theory

Effects of Blood Pressure on Cognitive Performance: A Systematic Review

The Aging Slow Wave: A Shifting Amalgam of Distinct Slow Wave and Spindle Coupling Subtypes Define Slow Wave Sleep Across the Human Lifespan

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