Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.
J Cogn Neurosci. 2013 Nov;25(11):1851-62. doi: 10.1162/jocn_a_00435. Epub 2013 Jun 14.
Advanced age and vascular risk negatively affect episodic memory. The hippocampus (HC) is a complex structure, and little is known about the roles of different HC regions in age-related memory declines. Using data from an ongoing longitudinal study, we investigated whether memory functions are related to volumes of specific HC subregions (CA1-2, CA3-4/dentate gyrus, and subiculum). Furthermore, we inquired if arterial hypertension, a common age-related vascular risk factor, modifies age-related differences in HC regional volumes, concurrent memory performance, and improvement in memory over multiple administrations. Healthy adults (n = 49, 52-82 years old) completed associative recognition and free recall tasks. In grouped path models, covariance structures differed between hypertensive and normotensive participants. Whereas larger CA3-4/dentate gyrus volumes predicted greater improvement in associative memory over repeated tests regardless of vascular risk, CA1-2 volumes were associated with improvement in noun recall only in hypertensive participants. Only among hypertensive participants, CA1-2 volumes negatively related to age and CA3-4/dentate gyrus and CA1-2 volumes were associated with performance at the last measurement occasion. These findings suggest that relatively small regions of the HC may play a role in age-related memory declines and that vascular risk factors associated with advanced age may modify that relationship.
高龄和血管危险因素会对情景记忆产生负面影响。海马体（HC）是一个复杂的结构，关于不同 HC 区域在与年龄相关的记忆衰退中的作用知之甚少。我们利用正在进行的纵向研究的数据，调查了记忆功能是否与特定 HC 亚区（CA1-2、CA3-4/齿状回和下托）的体积有关。此外，我们还询问了动脉高血压（一种常见的与年龄相关的血管危险因素）是否会改变 HC 区域体积、并发记忆表现以及在多次给药过程中记忆的改善与年龄相关的差异。健康成年人（n=49，52-82 岁）完成了联想识别和自由回忆任务。在分组路径模型中，高血压和正常血压参与者的协方差结构不同。虽然较大的 CA3-4/齿状回体积预测了在重复测试中联想记忆的改善，但无论血管风险如何，CA1-2 体积仅与高血压参与者的名词回忆改善有关。仅在高血压参与者中，CA1-2 体积与年龄呈负相关，CA3-4/齿状回和 CA1-2 体积与最后一次测量时的表现相关。这些发现表明，HC 的相对较小区域可能在与年龄相关的记忆衰退中发挥作用，并且与高龄相关的血管危险因素可能会改变这种关系。
