Katayama Osamu, Stern Yaakov, Habeck Christian, Coors Annabell, Lee Sangyoon, Harada Kenji, Makino Keitaro, Tomida Kouki, Morikawa Masanori, Yamaguchi Ryo, Nishijima Chiharu, Misu Yuka, Fujii Kazuya, Kodama Takayuki, Shimada Hiroyuki
Department of Preventive Gerontology, Center for Gerontology and Social Science, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Aichi, Japan.
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2024 Aug 7;16:1401818. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1401818. eCollection 2024.
Cognitive reserve (CR) is a property of the brain that allows for better-than-expected cognitive performance relative to the degree of brain change over the course of life. However, neurophysiological markers of CR remain under-investigated. Electroencephalography (EEG) features may function as suitable neurophysiological markers of CR. To assess this, we investigated whether the dorsal attention network (DAN) and ventral attention network (VAN) activities, as measured during resting-state EEG, moderate the relationship between hippocampal volume and episodic memory.
Participants were recruited as part of the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology-Study of Geriatric Syndromes. Hippocampal volume was determined using magnetic MRI, and episodic memory was measured using word lists. After testing the effect of hippocampal volume on memory performance using multiple regression analysis, we evaluated the interactions between hippocampal volume and DAN and VAN network activities. We further used the Johnson-Neyman technique to quantify the moderating effects of DAN and VAN network activities on the relationship between hippocampal volume and word list memory, as well as to identify specific ranges of DAN and VAN network activity with significant hippocampal-memory association.
A total of 449 participants were included in this study. Our analysis revealed significant moderation of DAN with a slope of β = -0.00012 (95% CI: -0.00024; -0.00001, = 0.040), and VAN with a slope of β = 0.00014 (95% CI: 0.00001; 0.00026, = 0.031). Further, we found that a larger hippocampal volume was associated with improved memory performance, and that this association became stronger as the DAN activity decreased until a limit of DAN activity of 944.9, after which the hippocampal volume was no longer significantly related to word-list memory performance. For the VAN, we found that a higher hippocampal volume was more strongly associated with better memory performance when VAN activity was higher. However, when VAN activity extended beyond -914.6, the hippocampal volume was no longer significantly associated with word-list memory.
Our results suggest that attentional networks help to maintain memory performance in the face of age-related structural decline, meeting the criteria for the neural implementation of cognitive reserve.
认知储备（CR）是大脑的一种特性，相对于一生中大脑变化的程度，它能使认知表现优于预期。然而，CR的神经生理标志物仍未得到充分研究。脑电图（EEG）特征可能是合适的CR神经生理标志物。为了评估这一点，我们研究了静息态EEG测量期间的背侧注意网络（DAN）和腹侧注意网络（VAN）活动是否调节海马体积与情景记忆之间的关系。
参与者作为国家老年医学和老年学中心老年综合征研究的一部分被招募。使用磁共振成像（MRI）确定海马体积，使用单词列表测量情景记忆。在使用多元回归分析测试海马体积对记忆表现的影响后，我们评估了海马体积与DAN和VAN网络活动之间的相互作用。我们进一步使用约翰逊 - 奈曼技术来量化DAN和VAN网络活动对海马体积与单词列表记忆之间关系的调节作用，以及确定具有显著海马 - 记忆关联的DAN和VAN网络活动的特定范围。
本研究共纳入449名参与者。我们的分析显示，DAN有显著调节作用，斜率β = -0.00012（95%置信区间：-0.00024；-0.00001，P = 0.040），VAN也有显著调节作用，斜率β = 0.00014（95%置信区间：0.00001；0.00026，P = 0.031）。此外，我们发现海马体积越大，记忆表现越好，并且随着DAN活动降低，这种关联变得更强，直到DAN活动降至944.9的极限，此后海马体积与单词列表记忆表现不再显著相关。对于VAN，我们发现当VAN活动较高时，海马体积越大与更好的记忆表现关联越强。然而，当VAN活动超过 -914.6时，海马体积与单词列表记忆不再显著相关。
我们的结果表明，注意网络有助于在面对与年龄相关的结构衰退时维持记忆表现，符合认知储备的神经实现标准。
