Memmott Tab R, Klee Daniel, Oken Barry
Oken Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), Portland, OR, United States.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2018 May 22;10:148. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2018.00148. eCollection 2018.
Negative affect (NA) has been related to lower working memory performance across all ages, including in older adults where it has been suggested as a marker for later cognitive impairments. However, NA-related decreases in working memory performance have not been shown in a full range of working memory paradigms or fully explored in the context of electrophysiological measures of working memory. We examined the impact of NA and related markers on an electroencephalography (EEG) marker of visual working memory (VWM) capacity, referred to as the contralateral delay activity (CDA). This study analyzed data collected from 48 cognitively intact, mildly stressed older adults (50-74 years old) who completed a VWM change-detection task to elicit the CDA, as well as self-rated measures of affect, stress, neuroticism and depression. Regression analyses revealed significant CDA amplitude effects with NA across task conditions. These results indicate a reduction in a physiological measure of VWM capacity in high-NA participants. These results are of interest as NA has been associated with a greater risk for worse cognitive function, detrimental health outcomes and reduced quality of life in older adults. This research adds to our understanding of how NA impacts older adults and gives a potential biomarker for successful intervention outcomes.
消极情绪（NA）与各年龄段较低的工作记忆表现有关，在老年人中亦是如此，消极情绪被认为是后期认知障碍的一个标志。然而，与消极情绪相关的工作记忆表现下降，在所有工作记忆范式中尚未得到证实，也未在工作记忆的电生理测量背景下得到充分探究。我们研究了消极情绪及相关指标对视觉工作记忆（VWM）容量的脑电图（EEG）指标（即对侧延迟活动，CDA）的影响。本研究分析了从48名认知完好、轻度应激的老年人（年龄在50 - 74岁之间）收集的数据，这些老年人完成了一项VWM变化检测任务以引出CDA，同时还进行了自我评定的情绪、应激、神经质和抑郁测量。回归分析显示，在所有任务条件下，消极情绪对CDA振幅有显著影响。这些结果表明，高消极情绪参与者的VWM容量生理指标有所降低。这些结果很有意义，因为消极情绪与老年人认知功能较差、健康状况不佳及生活质量下降的更大风险相关。这项研究增进了我们对消极情绪如何影响老年人的理解，并为成功的干预结果提供了一个潜在的生物标志物。
