Memory and aging

Abstract: Objective: To examine the relation of National Institute on Aging–Reagan (NIA-Reagan) neuropathologic criteria of Alzheimer disease (AD) to level of cognitive function in persons without dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) Methods: More than 2,000 persons without dementia participating in the Religious Orders Study or the Memory and Aging Project agreed to annual detailed clinical evaluation and brain donation The studies had 19 neuropsychological performance tests in common that assessed five cognitive domains, including episodic memory, semantic memory, working memory, perceptual speed, and visuospatial ability A total of 134 persons without cognitive impairment died and underwent brain autopsy and postmortem assessment for AD pathology using NIA-Reagan neuropathologic criteria for AD, cerebral infarctions, and Lewy bodies Linear regression was used to examine the relation of AD pathology to level of cognitive function proximate to death Results: Two (15%) persons met NIA-Reagan criteria for high likelihood AD, and 48 (358%) met criteria for intermediate likelihood; 29 (216%) had cerebral infarctions, and 18 (134%) had Lewy bodies The mean Mini-Mental State Examination score proximate to death was 282 for those meeting high or intermediate likelihood AD by NIA-Reagan criteria and 284 for those not meeting criteria In linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, and education, persons meeting criteria for intermediate or high likelihood AD scored about a quarter standard unit lower on tests of episodic memory ( p = 001) There were no significant differences in any other cognitive domain Conclusions: Alzheimer disease pathology can be found in the brains of older persons without dementia or mild cognitive impairment and is related to subtle changes in episodic memory

Abstract: Introduction The Mediterranean and dash diets have been shown to slow cognitive decline; however, neither diet is specific to the nutrition literature on dementia prevention. Methods We devised the Mediterranean-Dietary Approach to Systolic Hypertension (DASH) diet intervention for neurodegenerative delay (MIND) diet score that specifically captures dietary components shown to be neuroprotective and related it to change in cognition over an average 4.7 years among 960 participants of the Memory and Aging Project. Results In adjusted mixed models, the MIND score was positively associated with slower decline in global cognitive score (β = 0.0092; P Discussion The study findings suggest that the MIND diet substantially slows cognitive decline with age. Replication of these findings in a dietary intervention trial would be required to verify its relevance to brain health.

Abstract: Research in the neuropsychology of aging is concerned with changes in behavior with age that are related to corresponding changes in the nervous system. In recent years, this field of research has become so vast as to encompass the full range of behaviors and their presumed neurological substrates. A comprehensive coverage of the current status of this field is well beyond the scope of this chapter. Our plan, instead, is to focus on a single function, memory. Failing memory is one of the chief complaints of elderly people. Indeed, the decline of memory with age is a robust phenomenon that has been documented extensively in the Literature. We also can draw on a large theoretical and empirical literature on memory in younger adults as well as a rapidly growing literature on memory disorders in a neurological population. Research on neurological patients has identified a number of structures that, when damaged, lead to a variety of memory disorders. Principal among these is the hippocampus and associated medial temporal cortex a s well as anatomically related structures in the limbic system and diencephalon.' Damage to any of these structures can lead to a deficit in encoding and retention of new information and, perhaps, to impairment of some aspects of retrieval. There also has been a growing appreciation