Friday 9th of May 11.15-12.45
Cortile delle Magnolie
Abstracts
1. Network Neurochemical Interactions During Cognitive Flexibility in Young and Older Adults
by Geraldine Rodríguez-Nieto1 | Stephan Swinnen1 | David Álvarez-Anacona2
1 KU Leuven
2 Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Aging is accompanied by important changes in brain metabolism. Some studies have brought light into changes regarding metabolic levels. However, the relationship among different metabolites during cognitive performance and age associated changes had remained unexplored. In this Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy study (80 participants), we investigated the relationship among glutamate-glutamine complex (Glx), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA+), glutathione (GSH), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), creatine (Cr) and choline (Cho) in two brain regions relevant to cognitive flexibility, namely the inferior frontal and the inferior parietal cortices. The levels of Cho and Cr in both regions were correlated regardless of the state, whereas GSH levels in both regions were only related during flexible cognitive performance. Moreover, NAA levels difference between the two states (baseline and task) in both regions were related, suggesting its role in a task-dependent physiological mechanism involving both regions. Regarding the relationship among different metabolites within each region, we observed age-related (and region dependent) differences in the association of GSH -an important antioxidant- with other metabolites. The use of network analyses reveals changes in the neurometabolic dynamics associated to cognitive performance during aging and supports a deeper understanding of the structural and physiological properties of metabolites and age-related changes.
2. Aging and Mind Wandering: development of a new performance-free task to assess spontaneous thoughts
by Laura Favilli1 | Carlo Chiorri2 | Viola Tarricone1 | Manila Vannucci1
1 Department of NEUROFARBA-Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Italy
2 Department of Educational Sciences, University of Genoa, Italy
Mind wandering (MW) refers to a spontaneous shift of attention from a primary task toward internally generated thoughts. Research on MW in aging has revealed some inconsistencies, likely due to procedural limitations. Specifically, task difficulty and concerns about the ongoing task have been associated with reduced MW in older adults, disproportionately affecting their spontaneous thoughts. To overcome these limitations, we developed a new, ecological visuomotor activity with verbal cues, designed as a “cool-down activity” that required the manipulation of a soft ball without performance assessment, and compared it to a modified version of the same task with performance assessment. To explore age-related differences, sixty young and sixty older adults completed these tasks in a 2×2 between subjects’ design. Results showed that the new, performance-free task was more effective in inducing MW in both groups: without performance assessment, young and older adults reported a higher amount of MW, and their spontaneous thoughts were more likely to be triggered by external cues compared to the performance task. Additionally, participants in the non-performance condition were less likely to report task-related interferences. Overall, these findings suggest that a performance-free task is a promising avenue to enhance the study of mind wandering across age groups.
3. The Predictive Role of Cognitive Reserve in Executive Functioning
by Ilaria Corbo | Giuseppe Forte | Francesca Favieri | Maria Casagrande |
Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Cognitive reserve (CR) is the ability to compensate the age-related decline. Different studies have examined the role of CR in aging, from the perspective of protection against pathological aging. The purpose of this study is to examine how CR (schooling, working and leisure time) differs by age and how this could predict good executive functioning. A total of 318 participants (62 ± 7.8 years) were selected and divided by age. After anamnestic data collection, participants were interviewed to assess CR (Cognitive Reserve Index, CRI); then working memory (WM), phonemic fluency (PF), cognitive flexibility (TMT B and B-A) and fluid intelligence (RSPM) were assessed. Regression analyses revealed that TMT B (R2= 0.18; p= <0.001) was predicted by age, schooling and working; TMT B-A (R2= 0.14; p= <0.001) was predicted by age, schooling and working; PF (R2= 0.20; p= <0.001) was predicted by age, schooling and leisure time; WM (R2= 0.06; p= <0.001) by age and schooling; and RSPM (R2= 0.17; p= <0.001) was predicted by age, schooling and leisure time. Different predictive patterns may be observed in adulthood and aging. These findings could be useful for interventions to improve CR across the lifespan to strengthen executive functions crucial for daily independence.
4. The interplay between cognitive control and statistical learning processes in older adults
by Matthew Johnston | Kelly Wolfe
University of Edinburgh
Heriot-Watt University
As higher-order executive function processes typically decline in healthy ageing, other cognitive abilities may play compensatory roles. One such process is statistical learning: the ability to track environmental patterns (e.g., learning when certain sounds go together in speech). Just as it has been proposed that immature top-down guidance allows infants to more efficiently learn regularities, older adults may similarly possess enhanced statistical learning abilities due to limited top-down processes. Research on statistical learning in older adulthood is scarce and studies typically use forced-choice measures, which are problematic due to their reliance on long-term memory.
In two studies, current project investigates statistical learning in older adults, using a novel sorting task that captures differences in reaction time for statistically predictable and unpredictable stimuli. Study 1 involves the validation of the novel task with mixed-age participants (N = 60) on Prolific. Study 2 compares performance of 50 younger adults (ages 18-35) and 50 older adults (65 and older) on three executive function and two statistical learning tasks (including the novel sorting task). Data collection is ongoing and expected to be completed before May 2025. This project marks an important step to understanding how statistical learning functions alongside top-down processes in older adults.
5. Event-related potential evidence of flexible adaptation of visual search strategies across age groups
by Petia Kojouharova1 | Petra Csizmadia1 | Boglárka Nagy1, 2 | István Czigler1 | Zsófia Anna Gaál1
1 Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
2 Department of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
Decreased inhibitory control in older adults may result in greater processing of task- irrelevant stimuli. In visual search tasks this could affect both performance and search strategies. We explored age-related differences as reflected in the event-related potential components related to attention allocation (N2pc) and distractor suppression (PD).
Twenty younger (18–30 years) and 21 older adults (60–75 years) performed visual search tasks while their EEG was recorded. When the search array contained one target and one distractor, the only difference was a longer N2pc latency in older adults. In the next task, in a training phase the participants performed singleton (“find the unique stimulus among homogeneous distractors”) and feature (“find the circle among heterogeneous distractors”) search in separate blocks on arrays containing six stimuli with a colour pop-out distractor in half of the trials. In the test phase they searched for a circle among homogeneous or heterogeneous distractors. Our results showed a difference between the two search modes only in N2pc amplitude in both phases. This effect was not moderated by age group. These findings suggest that both younger and older adults flexibly adapt their strategies and implicitly select the most effective approach for the given array.
6. Task interruption effects on working memory: Younger but not older adults benefit from temporal flexibility in task resumption
by Daniel Schneider | Soner Ülkü | Edmund Wascher | Stephan Getzmann
Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors
Interruptions challenge cognitive functioning, affecting task performance and psychological well-being. This study explores age-related differences in managing interruptions during a visual working memory task. Younger adults (18–30 years) and older adults (55–70 years) were asked to store the orientation of two bar stimuli and later report one orientation based
on a retrospective cue. Interruptions occurred via arithmetic tasks, and resumption phases between the working memory task and the interrupting task were either short, long (additional 1000 ms), or self-determined. Interruptions consistently impaired task performance. Furthermore, younger adults benefited from self-paced resumption. EEG data revealed that additional resumption time enhanced beta suppression, aiding task disengagement and attentional refocusing. Flexible resumption further amplified oscillatory alpha and beta suppression only in younger adults, correlating with better task performance. These findings suggest that the opportunity for self-paced task resumption may facilitate more efficient cognitive processing specifically in younger adults, highlighting the complex interplay between age, interruption management, and working memory dynamics. This underscores the significant role of age in cognitive control, highlighting how the ability to adaptively manage interruptions diminishes with advancing age.
7. Exploring the effects of selective dropout in longitudinal fMRI studies
by Zoya Mooraj1 | Micael Andersson2, 3 | Anders Lundquist2, 4 | Lars Nyberg 2, 3, 5
1 Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
2 Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Umeå University
3 Department of Medical and Translational Biology, Umeå University
4 Department of Statistics, USBE, Umeå University
5 Department of Diagnostics and Intervention, Umeå University
Longitudinal studies are essential for understanding brain and behavioral changes in aging, but participant dropout remains a significant complication. Instead of being missing at random, dropouts may be more likely to exhibit lower function or greater declines in outcomes of interest. Furthermore, while task-fMRI activation may be sensitive to dropout effects, only baseline neural activation differences in two-timepoint longitudinal studies have been assessed; additional timepoints can disentangle whether dropout is selective to level or change. Using fMRI data from 181 older adults, we examined differences in working-memory activation between those who dropped out and those who remained over a 10-year period. Dropouts showed greater frontal activation at baseline alongside lower performance across n-back conditions (1/2/3-back), indicating greater neural resource requirement. Additionally, despite overall declines in ACC activation between timepoints 1 and 2, disaggregating slopes based on dropout status at timepoint 3 uncovered increasing activation over time for dropouts on the less cognitively-demanding 1-back condition. These results indicate that restricting analyses to subjects with complete data across timepoints can lead to biased estimates of levels and directions of change of functional brain activity in aging, resulting in trends of diverging or lower functioning (e.g. increased frontal recruitment) to be missed.
8. Leveraging Lifestyle Clusters and Multimodal Brain Features to Enhance Cognitive Prediction Models in Healthy Older Adults
by Mingxian Zhang1,2 | Nora Bittner1,2 | Camilla Mendl-Heinisch1,2 | Tatiana Miller1,2 | Susanne Moebus3 | Nico Dragano4 | Svenja Caspers1,2
1 Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
2 Institute for Anatomy I, Medical Faculty & University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
3 Institute for Urban Public Health, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
4 Institute of Medical Sociology, Medical Faculty & University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
Developing neuroimaging markers for normal cognitive aging is challenging due to variability in the brain and behavior among older adults, complicating the identification of predictors. However, modifiable lifestyle factors may help link underlying group differences in brain structure and function. Examining brain differences across distinct lifestyle groups may better identify informative features for predicting cognitive performance rather than relying solely on data-driven methods. This study explored whether lifestyle-related brain features could predict cognitive function in healthy older adults at baseline and after ~4 years, using multimodal MRI data from 563 participants of the 1000BRAINS cohort. We performed KModes clustering analysis on eight lifestyle factors to identify four distinct lifestyle groups and conducted univariate analyses to find significant between-group brain differences. These differences were used in a lifestyle-related model for machine learning, compared to data-driven models for predicting 13 cognitive tests. The lifestyle-related brain model better predicted visual and episodic memory than data-driven models but showed limited generalization. Correlations between predicted and actual cognitive scores were significant at both baseline and follow-up. This study highlights the potential for integrating lifestyle information as a form of feature selection to help improve predictive models of cognitive performance during aging, pending further external validation.
9. White Matter Lesions spatial distribution patterns related to cardiovascular aging follow arterial supply territories
by Tatiana Miller1 | Nora Bittner1 | Paulo Dellani2 | Julian Quabs1 | Svenja Caspers1 |
1 Institute for Anatomy I, Medical Faculty & University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
2 Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, 42425 Jülich, Germany
White matter lesions (WML) in brain MRI scans are common in older adults and are linked to cognitive, mood, and motor disorders, as well as increased risks of dementia and stroke. These lesions are influenced by lifestyle and cardiovascular factors. To explore the relationship between cardiovascular health and WML spatial distribution, we analysed the similarity between participants using k-means clustering, based on WML center location, WML burden, and cardiovascular health status, in two population-based cohorts: 1000BRAINS (n=1,040, ages 18-85) and NAKO (n=27,559, ages 19-74). Cardiovascular health status was summarized using a ‘cardiovascular age’ score, which included age, sex, blood pressure, hypertension medication, smoking status, diabetes diagnosis, and cholesterol levels. We mapped the affected brain areas on the Digital 3D Brain MRI Arterial Territories Atlas and tested each cluster’s mean WML distribution, surpassing 95% bootstrap confidence.
Our findings revealed five distinct WML spatial distribution patterns in each cohort, four of which were common across both. These patterns highlighted specific arterial territories with varying degrees of WML presence, providing evidence that WML spatial distributions are influenced by cardiovascular aging. Additionally, the medial lenticulostriate territory emerged as the first arterial region affected in normal aging.
10. Microarchitectural differences between white matter lesions and normal-appearing white matter across arterial territories: Insights from Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging
by Benedict Caspari1,2 | Nora Bittner1,2 | Tatiana Miller1,2 | Svenja Caspers1,2
1 Institute for Anatomy I, Medical Faculty & University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
2 Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
White Matter Lesions (WML) are linked to aging and vascular risk factors, while their microstructural mechanisms remain largely unclear. Using Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI), we investigated microarchitectural properties in WML in 915 participants (47% female, ages 18-85) from the population-based 1000BRAINS study.
Microstructural properties, i.e. FA, extracellular volume fraction (ECVF), neurite density (ICVF) and dispersion (ODI) were derived from T1- and diffusion-weighted MRI for WML and normal-appearing white matter (NAWM). Within-person differences between WML and NAWM were calculated for each property and related to age, cardiovascular risk (e.g., blood pressure), and vascular supply.
Older age is associated with increased ECVF and ODI differences, but smaller ICVF differences. Mostly similar patterns were found for higher cardiovascular risk. In contrast to expectations, FA differences decreased with age.
Compared to NAWM, WML show an increased ECVF in anterior-supplied, while ICVF in medial-supplied and ODI in posterior-supplied cerebral artery regions decrease.
Together, our data indicate a non-uniform distribution of microstructural changes in WML across vascular territories, with additional variation linked to cardiovascular risk and age. Overall, the data suggest a greater reduction in neurite density in WML compared to NAWM in relation to older age.
11. Impact of methodological choices when reconstructing specific streamline fiber tracts
by Nora Bittner1,2 | Medina Serifi1,2 | Paulo Dellani1,2 | Svenja Caspers1,2 |
1 Institute for Anatomy I, Medical Faculty & University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
2 Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
Diffusion imaging enables the study of specific fiber tracts with different reconstruction options. Selecting tracts from a whole-brain connectome with a fixed streamline number seems to be recommended. However, the biological validity of a fixed number across individuals, especially in the context of age-related structural connectivity (SC) differences, is uncertain. This suggests alternative approaches for reconstruction like regional seeding.
For 1009 participants (553 females, 18 – 85 years) of the population-based 1000BRAINS cohort we exemplary reconstructed the Corpus Callosum with probabilistic tractography. First, we selected specific streamlines from an a-priori built whole-brain connectome with 10Mio streamlines. Second, we directly seeded (5000 seeds) streamlines in each voxel of the CC´s mid-sagittal.
When comparing whether both approaches produce similar age-SC associations regarding explained variance, whole-brain based selection showed pronounced age-related SC differences, especially in anterior CC segments (< 27.1%). Direct seeding had a similar focus but showed generally smaller differences (<5.4%) and anatomically much more specific fiber trajectories. Agreement between approaches improved when using sift2 streamline weights instead of absolute streamline counts. Our data hence suggests an impact of the reconstruction approach on the strength of associations between SC and biological effects, here shown for age, with a possible overestimation by whole-brain based selection.
12. Individual Differences in Healthy Aging in Vision
by Sandali Nisansa Liyanagoonawardena | Simona Garobbio | Michael Herzog
EPFL
Representative tests are essential in all empirical sciences. For instance, good visual acuity, measured with eye doctors’ Snellen E test, is assumed to predict good acuity when other visual acuity tests are used. A test is useless if performance in a test does not correlate with the performance of similar tests.
Surprisingly weak correlations are found in vision research on healthy aging. For example, we found that older adults performed worse than young adults in a battery of visual tests and illusions. However, within each population, performance in the various tests was largely uncorrelated, despite good test re-test reliability. In other words, poor performance in one test does not indicate poor performance in a similar test.
Hence, tests are less representative than often expected, or the intra-individual variability is significantly higher than previously assumed. We propose to rethink the traditional approach of using a single test and instead advocate for using a battery of tests, each capturing a distinct factor. Furthermore, we hypothesize that changes in individual performance over time in one visual test are independent of changes in another visual test.
13. Taxonomic and thematic semantic knowledge as predictors of reading comprehension in aging
Caterina Artuso 1 | Carmen Belacchi2
1 Università di Genova
2 Belacchi università di Urbino Carlo Bo
The relationship between working memory and reading comprehension in aging has been widely shown. Moreover, a difference between text genres was shown: whereas narrative text comprehension seems to be preserved in aging, the expository text affects the already limited cognitive resources of the older adults. Though semantic knowledge plays a key role during reading comprehension, there are no studies clearly showing the relation between semantic knowledge and reading comprehension in aging.
In the current research, to investigate the role of semantic knowledge during comprehension, we administered to adults (younger and older) a semantic working memory task, distinguishing taxonomic and thematic knowledge, and two reading comprehension tests (narrative and expository genre).
The results showed that younger adults used flexibly either taxonomic or thematic knowledge, whereas older adults used mainly thematic knowledge (better preserved from age-related decline). Originally, we found that in older adults no specific predictors were found for narrative text comprehension, whereas both thematic knowledge and education level were significant predictors of expository text comprehension. Results were discussed in the light of the possible protective role of education level and mostly, as an instance of cognitive reserve exemplified by the use of thematic knowledge as a residual ability.
14. The influence of bilingualism on gray matter volume within subregions of the hippocampal formation
by Katharina Peitz1,2 | Nora Bittner1,2 | Stefan Heim2,3 | Svenja Caspers1,2
1 Institute for Anatomy I, Medical Faculty & University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
2 Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany |
3 Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
The hippocampal formation (HF) shows age-related structural atrophy. Bilingualism is related to higher gray matter volume (GMV) in the HF, which may represent a form of “brain reserve”. However, the differential influence of bilingualism on HF subregions remains unclear. Thus, we investigated inter-individual GMV differences and intra-individual GMV trajectories in mono- and bilinguals in the HF and two HF subregions, hippocampus proper (HPr) and subicular complex (SubC). GMV was assessed cross-sectionally in 661 adults (257 monolinguals) from the 1000BRAINS study for the bilateral HF, HPr, and SubC using ANCOVAs. For longitudinal analyses over two time points (mean interval: 3.5 years), 220 participants were included (97 monolinguals). Cross-sectionally, we found higher GMV in bilinguals in the bilateral HF and SubC. Longitudinal analyses revealed similar GMV trajectories in mono- and bilinguals within all regions of interest. We confirmed higher GMV in bilinguals’ HF. With the bilateral HPr showing no effect of language group, bilingualism appears to specifically add brain reserve to regions subserving memory retrieval (SubC) rather than encoding. With similar GMV trajectories for mono- and bilinguals, bilingual brain reserve in the SubC may persist over time. Altogether, our results provide new insights into structural adaptations to bilingualism in the human HF.
15. Future thinking across aging: a cross-cultural perspective
by Zeinab Khazem1 | Anne-Lise Florkin1 | Vinicius Coscioni2 | Elena Cavallini1
1Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Italy
2Developmental Psychology Section, Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
Future-thinking or prospection is a unique flexible cognitive function that allows humans to virtually project themselves to a different time-location. Prospection abilities rely on the presence of choices, self-projection in time, and the interaction of these factors with cultural differences. Additionally, prospection is particularly relevant for older adults since they tend to face more difficulties when envisioning the future. Previous literature has identified that cultural differences observed in future-thinking typically depend on the degree of collectivism and on the generativity that accompanies aging. Although the cultural differences in future-thinking have been previously explored, there remains a gap in understanding how these contexts impact older adults’ time perception and how cultural values integrate into their prospection practices. This study aims to investigate how cultural frameworks, such as the degree of collectivism, shape older adults’ engagement in future-thinking. Participants in this study are from Lebanon (collectivistic culture), Belgium (individualistic culture) and Italy (hybrid culture). This study employs a mental time travel task and a series of questionnaires on the influence of future-thinking on behavior, the functions of future-thinking, and the influence of cultural orientations on behaviors and attitudes. Data collection is ongoing and will be concluded by April 2025.
16. Future time perspective and sense of finitude: effects on memory and emotional regulation in aging.
by Laetitia BRUNO | Aurélia Bugaïska
LEAD université de Bourgogne
This study examines whether broadening older adults’ future time perspective (FTP) enhances episodic memory and emotional regulation by alleviating existential anxiety or merely encouraging future-oriented thinking. Based on Lang’s (2023) concept of finitude awareness and the socioemotional selectivity theory (Carstensen & Reynolds, 2023), we focused on personal mortality awareness. Older adults (n=118) were assigned FTP horizons of 0, 5, or 20 years; some received health reassurance (HR) indicating continued good health. Main measures were FTP, episodic memory (16-word recall), and emotion regulation strategies.
Results showed that expanding FTP significantly improved memory performance, especially in the 20-year group. The 5-year groups (with and without HR) and the 20-year group increased unlimited FTP scores regardless of HR, suggesting that projecting into the future enhances the perception of a broader future (Schacter & Madore, 2016). The 5HR group excelled in cognitive reappraisal, supporting that older adults emotionally benefit from nearer temporal horizons (Carstensen & Reynolds, 2023). Distancing from death via HR wasn’t necessary for memory gains—as both HR and non-HR groups improved similarly—but appeared to enhance emotion regulation, with the 5HR group showing better cognitive reappraisal. These findings suggest distinct mechanisms: future projection enhances memory, while reducing existential worry aids emotional regulation.
17. Associative Memory in Older Adults: Predictors of Change Across Six Years
by Marvin Dophenmont1 | Erika J. Laukka2 | Ruth E. Mark1 | Moshe Naveh-Benjamin3 | Lars Bäckman2 | Yvonne Brehmer1
1 Tilburg University
2 Karolinska Institutet
3 University of Missouri
Within episodic memory, the conscious remembrance of single items and item associations, memory for item associations is especially reduced in older compared to younger adults. Yet, there are large inter-individual differences within age groups. Most studies have investigated predictors of the age-related associative memory deficit using cross-sectional age-comparative data, which impede the interpretation of within-person changes. In this study, we used longitudinal data from a subsample of a population-based study (Swedish National study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen, SNAC-K), assessed with an item- associative memory task. The sample consisted of 415 subjects, aged 60 years at baseline (M = 60.44, SD = .23). We assessed changes in associative memory independent from item memory across a six-year time interval. We investigated predictors of inter-individual differences in associative memory change which originate from cognitive, health-related, and social domains.
We will focus especially on findings, which are specific for associative memory change (over and above item memory change). These results will help us to better understand which factors account for age-related changes in episodic memory and especially associative memory, which is highly relevant for older adults’ everyday life functioning and independence.
18. Examining the Effect of Picture Familiarity on the Age- Related Associative Memory Deficit
by Luisa Knopf | Ricarda Endemann | Siri-Maria Kamp |
Trier University
In the present study, we tested the idea that the age-related associative memory deficit in episodic memory is influenced by the ease of perceptual processing of the components of an association. To manipulate ease of perceptual processing, half of the participants were familiarized with pictures 24 hours prior to an associative memory task with pairs including these pictures. We hypothesized that prior familiarization would improve associative memory and enhance the frontal slow wave subsequent memory effect (SME) during encoding, reflecting deep elaborative encoding, especially in older adults.
Contrary to our hypothesis, the behavioral results revealed that the age-related associative memory deficit was not influenced by prior familiarization. However, the SME patterns differed between the age groups depending on prior familiarization. Young adults showed a frontal slow wave SME that did not differ depending on prior familiarization. Older adults, however, showed a trend for an SME with the typical polarity without prior familiarization, but a polarity reversal of the SME after the familiarization phase. This SME patterns suggest that the neural mechanisms of elaboration during associative encoding may be differentially impacted by prior item familiarization in young and older adults.
19. Refining Calculations of the Ribot Temporal Gradient: Optimising Utilisation of the Famous Faces Test
by Tom Nyhoff | Yvonne Brehmer1,2 | Marvin Dophemont3 | Francesco Pupillo1 | Katrijn van Deun4 | Ruth Mark3
1 Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
2 Aging Research Institute, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
3 Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
4 Department of Methodology and Statistics, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
The famous faces test (FFT) offers the possibility to calculate a Ribot Temporal Gradient (RTG), defined as better memory for remotely vs recently famous faces. The RTG has been found in patients with Korsakoff’s syndrome and individuals in early stages of Alzheimer’s dementia. Still it is not clear whether it acts as an early marker of neurodegeneration, which is also present in healthy older adults. Additionally, there lacks consensus on how the FFT can be best utilised to calculate the RTG.
Here, 564 older adults (60+) living in the community completed the Dutch version of the FFT (D-FFT) in addition to extensive physical, cognitive, demographic, and health assessments. We will compare statistical models with different operationalizations of the RTG accounting for a combination of stimulus’ and participants’ characteristics in how well they explain individuals’ performance. This will allow us to set standards for calculating the RTG and facilitate more accurate assessment of the RTG at the individual level. Furthermore, we will explore which variables affect intra-individual differences in the RTG.
This study increases our understanding of how the D-FFT is best utilised to identify the presence of a Ribot Temporal Gradient in both normal and clinical aging.
20. Memories of age discrimination in relation to older adults’ well-being
by Burcu Demiray | Kathrin Inerle | Miriam Wallimann | Andrea Ferrario | Erica Benz |
University of Zürich
Ageism is the umbrella term for the stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination towards people based on their age. Ageism mostly affects older people. We have been building a citizen science project in Switzerland with an online platform that educates public about ageism, and collects real-life experiences from older citizens. Most of the ageism literature is based on questionnaire data, therefore we contribute to the literature by asking older citizens to share concrete, real-life experiences of ageism. We ask them to write down memories of events when they were thinking, feeling or being treated differently due to their age (by themselves and/or by others). For each narrative, participants are asked to provide self-report on various psychological variables (e.g., How did this experience make you feel?). Data collection is ongoing. Narratives will be analyzed via machine learning including topic modelling and sentiment analysis. We will investigate what types of ageism older adults experience, how they recall these events and interpret them in relation to their well-being. Our preliminary results will be discussed in the context of healthy aging and with regards to the implications of collecting real-life episodes.
21. The role of social factors on intrinsic motivation in prospective memory amongst older adults
by Maria Arberg Nygaard | Louise Phillips
University of Aberdeen
The current study examines the interplay between intrinsic motivation and the ability to plan and execute future intentions (prospective memory; PM). Maintaining PM significantly aids independence in old age. Although previous studies have investigated PM and extrinsic motivation (i.e., coming from external rewards and praise) in aging, little is known about intrinsic motivation (i.e., coming from internal desire to reach a goal). Therefore, the current study investigated the link between PM and intrinsic motivation in health-specific situations likely to be important to older people. Our recent interview studies suggested that social factors were particularly motivating for older adults, so we hypothesized higher intrinsic motivation for social compared to non-social health-related PM scenarios. In a mixed-method within-subjects experiment, participants (N=120) aged 60-87 were presented with social and non-social health-related PM scenarios and asked to rate their intrinsic motivation following each scenario. Finally, they were presented with open-ended questions on PM, health and motivation. Results from a linear mixed model supported our main hypothesis, suggesting higher intrinsic motivation in PM health-related scenarios with a social (compared to non-social) aspect. Further, intrinsic motivation increased with age irrespective of the social aspect. Findings create a potential for supporting PM ability through social motivation.
22. Spontaneous prospective memory: do younger and older adults differ in noticing an unexpected prospective memory cue?
by Charlotte D.M.A. Pas1 | Alexandra Hering1,2,3 | Yvonne Brehmer1,4 | Nicola Ballhausen1,2
1 Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
2 Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
3 Cognitive Aging Lab (CAL), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
4 Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Spontaneous prospective memory (SPM) is the ability to remember and successfully perform an intended action without actively monitoring for the target cue. While the multiprocess theory suggests SPM to be spared throughout aging, empirical evidence proposes a reduced sensitivity of SPM processes in older adults. In this study, we will investigate possible adultage differences in noticing an unexpected PM cue, both behaviorally and in underlying physiological orienting responses. 50 younger (18-30 years) and 50 older participants (65+) are tested using a computerized SPM paradigm, which includes three different ongoing tasks (OT). Participants are instructed that in one of these, the target cue will be presented. However, this cue is shown unexpectedly in a different OT which will induce SPM as participants are not instructed to actively monitor during this specific OT. Data collection is ongoing, preliminary results will be presented focusing 1) on age differences in SPM using behavioral measurements (e.g. accuracy and reaction times) and 2) on underlying spontaneous retrieval processes using physiological indicators (e.g. heartrate and skin conductance). This study will contribute to our understanding of potential age differences in spontaneous retrieval and whether these are caused by a reduced sensitivity in noticing the cue in older adults.
23. Prospective Memory as a key predictor of everyday functioning in middle and older adulthood in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging
by Emilie Joly-Burra1 | Theresa Pauly2 | Andrew Wister2 | Sascha Zuber1 |
1 University of Geneva (Switzerland)
2 Simon Fraser University (Canada)
Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to perform planned actions after a delay, such as remembering to pay bills on time, or taking medication. Although PM is considered vital for independence, to date few studies have explored its longitudinal relationship with Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL). Using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (N > 25,000; ages 45-85 at baseline), this study is the first to examine how event- and time-based PM predict IADL over mid- to late-life.
Results show that time-based PM declined with age, while event-based PM showed practice effects. Importantly, zero-inflated General Linear Mixed Models revealed, for the first time, that higher baseline scores in both event- and time-based PM concurrently predicted better IADL outcomes over seven years, even after adjusting for age and education. Thus, findings underscore the separate, but complementary, roles of event- and time-based PM in supporting functional independence. By illustrating PM’s impact on the development of life skills crucial for independent living, this study provides valuable insights into aging research and highlights the importance of early support for PM deficits to maintain autonomy in older adults.
24. Baseline cognitive and motor fitness as a predictor of dual- task walking outcomes in older adults: A 12-week RCT on cognitive, motor, and combined training
by Ina Demetriou1 | Richard Henson 1,2
1 Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
2 Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK
This research investigated longitudinal changes in cognitive performance in a lifespan cohort of healthy adults from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (CamCAN). We analysed cognitive scores from 2 to 3 time points with an approximate interval of 12 years between the baseline and last follow-up (n=148). Main tests included the Cattell test (fluid intelligence), Spot the Word (crystallised intelligence), Reaction Time tests and Verbal Memory tests. An initial selectivity analysis on the ‘returners’ (n=148) versus ‘non-returners&’ (n=611) was conducted to identify potential biases in the ‘returners’ population and assess generalisability of findings to the population. Longitudinal changes were assessed using mixed-effects models that aimed to separate cross-sectional effects of age from longitudinal effects of ageing, whilst accounting for baseline-dependent change effects and confounding variables, such as practice effects, sex and education effects. Our results replicated previous differences in longitudinal trajectories: crystallised intelligence remained intact, reaction time decreased constantly across the lifespan, whereas fluid intelligence and memory declined in an accelerated manner. We are currently relating these trajectories to those in various brain measures derived from repeat MRI and MEG.
25. The impact of hormonal changes on cognitive function in menopause
by Orsolya Horváth1 | Petra Csizmadia1 | Nóra Csikós1 | Lili Kővári1, 2 | Zsófia Anna Gaál1 | Szabolcs Várbíró3, 4
1 Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
2 Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
3 Centre for Translational Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
4 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
Women spend about one-third of their lives in the postmenopausal stage, making it important to explore how the accompanying hormonal changes affect cognitive function, and how hormonal fluctuations over the lifespan contribute to menopausal symptoms. In our ongoing research we compared four groups: (1) women under-going menopause (2) postmenopausal women receiving HRT, (3) postmenopausal women not receiving HRT, and (4) women in perimenopause. Participants completed an online questionnaire, followed by an online cognitive test assessing the five major cognitive domains (memory, attention, executive function, language and perception). Data on demographics, and health status were collected from 400 individuals, with cognitive data available for 149 participants. Preliminary results show that physical symptoms are most severe in perimenopausal women, physical and psychological symptoms contribute to higher depression scale scores. Contrary to previous research, we found no differences in cognitive abilities across the four groups, but language skills varied based on education level, type of menopause (natural, surgical), and reproductive period duration. In conclusion, our results suggest that menopausal symptoms are most severe during the perimenopausal period, and influence depression and anxiety symptoms. However, they have a limited impact on cognitive abilities.
26. Neighborhood Quality Moderates Relationship between Sleep Duration and Cognitive Performance
by Alexa C. Allan1 | Orfeu M. Buxton1 | Jacqueline A. Mogle2 | Lesley A. Ross2 | Christopher G. Engeland1 | Roland J. Thorpe, Jr.3 | Alan B. Zonderman4 | Michele K. Evans4 | Alyssa A. Gamaldo2
1 The Pennsylvania State University
2 Clemson University, Institute for Engaged Aging (IEA)
3 Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research, Bloomberg School of Public Health |
4 Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging
The current study examined the cross-sectional association between neighborhood quality, self-reported sleep duration, and cognition. Using data from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity Across the Life Span Sleep Study (HANDLSleep), the analytic sample included 151 community-dwelling Black adults (Mage = 62.18, SDage = 8.28; 73% female) living in Baltimore City, Maryland. Neighborhood quality was assessed using self- reported measures of physical built disorder (e.g., graffiti), social cohesion (e.g., close-knit neighborhood), and social control (e.g., neighbors act if children disrespecting an adult) and the Neighborhood Atlas’ Area Deprivation Index (ADI). Participants were administered a psychometric battery including measures of memory, learning, attention, processing speed, and executive function. Multivariable linear regression analyses unexpectedly indicated that lower reported sleep duration was associated with better performance on measures of memory, learning, and attention (p <.05) after adjusting for covariates (i.e., age, sex, poverty status, education quality, medical conditions, depressive symptomology). Significant neighborhood quality and sleep duration interactions were observed for a measure of executive function and processing speed (p <.05), such that better performance was associated with greater sleep duration, particularly for participants living in more disadvantaged neighborhoods. Findings highlight the importance of neighborhood quality in understanding the link between sleep and cognition.