Lu Juan-Juan, Ma Jie, Zheng Mou-Xiong, Wu Jia-Jia, Xiang Yun-Ting, Jin Jing, Guo Qi-Hao, Hua Xu-Yun, Xu Jian-Guang
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No.110 Ganhe Road, Shanghai, 200437, China.
School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China.
Alzheimers Res Ther. 2025 Jul 18;17(1):164. doi: 10.1186/s13195-025-01816-5.
Metamemory, a measure of introspective awareness of memory performance, provides an internally-generated drive, profoundly impacting external memory activities. Given its role in regulating memory along internal-external axis, understanding metamemory and underlying neural mechanisms in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is crucial for memory improvement. The present study was aimed to explore metamemory alterations and structural and functional remodeling characteristics underlying metamemory, as well as key brain regions that potentially moderated its intrinsic associations with age, education, and first-order cognition in aMCI.
Sixty-seven aMCI patients and fifty-two healthy controls underwent neuropsychological assessments and magnetic resonance imaging in this case-control study. Generalized linear models analyzed metamemory-related neuroimaging characteristics. Moderation analysis examined their roles in relationships with age, education, and first-order cognition.
Patients with aMCI exhibited lower estimation of performance in prediction (EOP-pre) (P < 0.001) and postdiction (EOP-post) (P = 0.002). Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) of left parahippocampal gyrus (PHG.L) (P = 0.026) and mediodorsal medial magnocellular (ltMDm) (P = 0.001), along with group × ALFF interaction effects in right cuneus (P = 0.010) and inferior parietal gyrus (P = 0.011) affected metamemory. Functional connectivity between ltMDm and left anterior cingulate cortex-pregenual (ACCpre.L) alleviated the association between metamemory and recall (P = 0.030). PHG.L ALFF enhanced the association between education and metamemory (P = 0.043).
Metamemory in aMCI was associated with parietotemporal and thalamic functional remodeling. Regions including ltMDm, ACCpre.L, and PHG.L influenced its intrinsic relationships with education/recall, providing new insights for aMCI interventions.
元记忆是对记忆表现的内省意识的一种度量，它提供一种内在产生的驱动力，对外部记忆活动产生深远影响。鉴于其在沿内外轴调节记忆方面的作用，了解遗忘型轻度认知障碍（aMCI）中的元记忆及其潜在神经机制对于改善记忆至关重要。本研究旨在探讨aMCI中元记忆的改变、元记忆背后的结构和功能重塑特征，以及可能调节其与年龄、教育程度和一阶认知的内在关联的关键脑区。
在这项病例对照研究中，67例aMCI患者和52名健康对照者接受了神经心理学评估和磁共振成像。广义线性模型分析了与元记忆相关的神经影像特征。调节分析检验了它们在与年龄、教育程度和一阶认知的关系中的作用。
aMCI患者在预测（EOP-pre）（P < 0.001）和事后预测（EOP-post）（P = 0.002）中的表现估计较低。左侧海马旁回（PHG.L）（P = 0.026）和内侧背侧内侧大细胞（ltMDm）（P = 0.001）的低频波动幅度（ALFF），以及右侧楔叶（P = 0.010）和顶下小叶（P = 0.011）中的组×ALFF交互效应影响了元记忆。ltMDm与左侧前扣带回皮质膝前部（ACCpre.L）之间的功能连接减轻了元记忆与回忆之间的关联（P = 0.030）。PHG.L的ALFF增强了教育程度与元记忆之间的关联（P = 0.043）。
aMCI中的元记忆与顶颞叶和丘脑功能重塑有关。包括ltMDm、ACCpre.L和PHG.L在内的区域影响了其与教育程度/回忆的内在关系，为aMCI干预提供了新的见解。
