Comparison of Semantic and Episodic Memory BOLD fMRI Activation in Predicting Cognitive Decline in Older Adults

Authors

Nathan Hantke, Marquette UniversityFollow
Kristy A. Nielson, Marquette UniversityFollow
John L. Woodard, Wayne State University
Leslie M. Guidotti Breting, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and ScienceFollow
Alissa Butts, Marquette UniversityFollow
Michael Seidenberg, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and ScienceFollow
J. Carson Smith, University of Maryland - College Park
Sally Durgerian, Medical College of WisconsinFollow
Melissa A. Lancaster, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and ScienceFollow
Monica Matthews, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and ScienceFollow
Michael Sugarman, Wayne State University
Stephen M. Rao, Cleveland ClinicFollow

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Format of Original

11 p.

Publication Date

1-2013

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Source Publication

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society

Source ISSN

1355-6177

Original Item ID

doi: 10.1017/S1355617712000951

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 (R² = .106; C index = .642). Addition of SM activation significantly improved prediction accuracy (R² = .285; C index = .787), whereas the addition of EM did not (R² = .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. (JINS, 2012, 18, 1–11)

Comments

Published version. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, Vol. 19, No. 1 (January 2013): 11-21. DOI. Material on these pages is copyright Cambridge University Press or reproduced with permission from other copyright owners. It may be downloaded and printed for personal reference, but not otherwise copied, altered in any way or transmitted to others (unless explicitly stated otherwise) without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. Hypertext links to other Web locations are for the convenience of users and do not constitute any endorsement or authorisation by Cambridge University Press.

Recommended Citation

Hantke, Nathan; Nielson, Kristy A.; Woodard, John L.; Guidotti Breting, Leslie M.; Butts, Alissa; Seidenberg, Michael; Smith, J. Carson; Durgerian, Sally; Lancaster, Melissa A.; Matthews, Monica; Sugarman, Michael; and Rao, Stephen M., "Comparison of Semantic and Episodic Memory BOLD fMRI Activation in Predicting Cognitive Decline in Older Adults" (2013). Psychology Faculty Research and Publications. 81.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/psych_fac/81