Faculty Collaboration Database

Comparison of semantic and episodic memory BOLD fMRI activation in predicting cognitive decline in older adults. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2013 Jan;19(1):11-21

Date

12/04/2012

Pubmed ID

23199565

Pubmed Central ID

PMC3584558

DOI

10.1017/S1355617712000951

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-84872090395 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   19 Citations

Abstract

Previous studies suggest that task-activated functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can predict future cognitive decline among healthy older adults. The present fMRI study examined the relative sensitivity of semantic memory (SM) versus episodic memory (EM) activation tasks for predicting cognitive decline. Seventy-eight cognitively intact elders underwent neuropsychological testing at entry and after an 18-month interval, with participants classified as cognitively "Stable" or "Declining" based on ≥ 1.0 SD decline in performance. Baseline fMRI scanning involved SM (famous name discrimination) and EM (name recognition) tasks. SM and EM fMRI activation, along with Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 status, served as predictors of cognitive outcome using a logistic regression analysis. Twenty-seven (34.6%) participants were classified as Declining and 51 (65.4%) as Stable. APOE ε4 status alone significantly predicted cognitive decline (R(2) = .106; C index = .642). Addition of SM activation significantly improved prediction accuracy (R(2) = .285; C index = .787), whereas the addition of EM did not (R(2) = .212; C index = .711). In combination with APOE status, SM task activation predicts future cognitive decline better than EM activation. These results have implications for use of fMRI in prevention clinical trials involving the identification of persons at-risk for age-associated memory loss and Alzheimer's disease.

Author List

Hantke N, Nielson KA, Woodard JL, Breting LM, Butts A, Seidenberg M, Carson Smith J, Durgerian S, Lancaster M, Matthews M, Sugarman MA, Rao SM

Authors

Alissa Butts PhD Associate Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Kristy Nielson PhD Professor in the Psychology department at Marquette University

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Activities of Daily Living
Aged
Apolipoprotein E4
Brain
Brain Mapping
Cognition Disorders
Female
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Logistic Models
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Memory, Episodic
Mental Status Schedule
Neuropsychological Tests
Oxygen
Predictive Value of Tests
Principal Component Analysis
Semantics