Subjective memory complaints in young people; their relationship withobjective cognitive performance and the role of neuroticism / Quejas subjetivas de memoria en jóvenes; su relación con el rendimiento cognitivo objetivo y el papel del neuroticismo

Las percepciones de olvidos recurrentes o episodios de distracción en la vida diaria se denominan quejas subjetivas de memoria (QSM). Su naturaleza se ha estudiado ampliamente en adultos mayores, pero su importancia y relación con el rendimiento neurocognitivo no se han abordado por completo en adultos más jóvenes. Se han sugerido algunos rasgos psicológicos como posibles moderadores de la asociación entre el rendimiento de la memoria objetiva y subjetiva. El primer objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la correspondencia entre la percepción objetiva y subjetiva de los fallos de memoria en jóvenes. En segundo lugar, estudiamos si el rasgo psicológico del neuroticismo podría estar influyendo en esta relación. Para ello, medimos QSM, diferentes dominios cognitivos (memoria episódica y de trabajo y funciones ejecutivas) y neuroticismo en 80 hombres y mujeres jóvenes. Los resultados mostraron que solo la memoria episódica inmediata estaba estadísticamente relacionada con los QSM. Curiosamente, las relaciones negativas entre el rendimiento de la memoria objetiva y subjetiva solo aparecieron en participantes con mayor neuroticismo. Por lo tanto, las quejas de memoria reportadas por los jóvenes podrían reflejar un peor rendimiento de la memoria episódica inmediata, mientras que el neuroticismo jugaría un papel principal en la asociación entre los déficits de memoria y las QSM. Este estudio proporciona datos que pueden ayudar a comprender mejor las QSM en los jóvenes.(AU)

Perceptions of recurrent forgetfulness or episodes of distraction in daily life are referred to as subjective memory complaints (SMCs). Their nature has been extensively studied in older adults, but their significance and relationship with neurocognitive performance have not been fully ad-dressed in younger adults. Some psychological traits have been suggested as possible moderators of the association between objective and subjective memory performance. The first aim of this study was to analyze the corre-spondence between the objective and subjective perception of memory failures in young people. Second, we studied whether the psychological trait of neuroticism could be influencing this relationship. Todo this, we measured SMCs, different cognitive domains (episodic and working memory and executive functions), and neuroticism in 80 young men and women. Results showed that only immediate episodic memory was statisti-cally related to SMCs. Interestingly, the negative relationships between ob-jective and subjective memory performance only appeared in participants with higher neuroticism. Thus, memory complaints reported by young people could reflect poorer immediate episodic memory performance, whereas neuroticism would play a main role in the association between memory deficits and SMCs. This study provides data that can help to bet-ter understand SMCs in young people.(AU)

WeChat usage and preservation of cognitive functions in middle-aged and older Chinese adults: indications from a nationally representative survey, 2018-2020.

PURPOSE: To investigate the associations between the most popular social media platform WeChat usage and cognitive performance among the middle-aged and older Chinese population using data from a nationally representative survey. METHODS: In total, 17,472 participants (≥ 45 years old) from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, Wave 4, 2018) were analyzed. Cognitive performance including episodic memory and executive function was assessed using Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE). Other confounding variables included socio-economic characteristics, medical status, and lifestyle-related information. Multiple linear regression models were used to test the association between cognitive performance and WeChat usage by introducing covariates hierarchically. Subgroup analyses of age and gender were conducted to estimate the robustness of the primary findings. RESULTS: After adjusting for multiple confounders across all linear models, WeChat usage is significantly associated with executive function, episodic memory, and global cognitive performance (all p values<0.05). Such results remained robust in subgroup analyses, stratified by age and gender, and also verified according to longitudinal analyses. Compared to 'Chat-only' users who only used WeChat for online interpersonal communication, further usage of WeChat functions such as using 'Moments' appeared to be significantly associated with better cognitive performance, especially for episodic memory. CONCLUSION: Social media usage is significantly and positively associated with better cognitive performance among the middle-aged and older Chinese population. Along with point-to-point messaging, using 'Moments' and extended social media platform functions may correlate to better cognitive performance.

To update or to create? The influence of novelty and prior knowledge on memory networks.

Schemas are foundational mental structures shaped by experience. They influence behaviour, guide the encoding of new memories and are shaped by associated information. The adaptability of memory schemas facilitates the integration of new information that aligns with existing knowledge structures. First, we discuss how novel information consistent with an existing schema can be swiftly assimilated when presented. This cognitive updating is facilitated by the interaction between the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex. Second, when novel information is inconsistent with the schema, it likely engages the hippocampus to encode the information as part of an episodic memory trace. Third, novelty may enhance hippocampal dopamine through either the locus coeruleus or ventral tegmental area pathways, with the pathway involved potentially depending on the type of novelty encountered. We propose a gradient theory of schema and novelty to elucidate the neural processes by which schema updating or novel memory traces are formed. It is likely that experiences vary along a familiarity-novelty continuum, and the degree to which new experiences are increasingly novel will guide whether memory for a new experience either integrates into an existing schema or prompts the creation of a new cognitive framework. This article is part of the theme issue 'Long-term potentiation: 50 years on'.

An Examination into the Effects of a Nutraceutical Supplement on Cognition, Stress, Eye Health, and Skin Satisfaction in Adults with Self-Reported Cognitive Complaints: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Background: Dietary quality and the consumption of antioxidant-rich foods have been shown to protect against memory decline. Therefore, this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study aimed to investigate the effects of a nutritional supplement on changes in cognitive performance. Methods: In adults aged 40 to 70 years with subjective memory complaints, participants were randomly allocated to take a supplement containing vitamin E, astaxanthin, and grape juice extract daily for 12 weeks or a matching placebo. The primary outcomes comprised changes in cognitive tasks assessing episodic memory, working memory, and verbal memory. Secondary and exploratory measures included changes in the speed of information processing, attention, and self-report measures of memory, stress, and eye and skin health. Moreover, changes in plasma concentrations of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, malondialdehyde, tumor-necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-6 were measured, along with changes in skin carotenoid concentrations. Results: Compared to the placebo, nutritional supplementation was associated with larger improvements in one primary outcome measure comprising episodic memory (p = 0.037), but not for working memory (p = 0.418) or verbal learning (p = 0.841). Findings from secondary and exploratory outcomes demonstrated that the nutraceutical intake was associated with larger improvements in the Everyday Memory Questionnaire (p = 0.022), increased plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (p = 0.030), decreased plasma malondialdehyde (p = 0.040), and increased skin carotenoid concentrations (p = 0.006). However, there were no group differences in changes in the remaining outcome measures. Conclusions: Twelve weeks of supplementation with a nutritional supplement was associated with improvements in episodic memory and several biological markers associated with cognitive health. Future research will be essential to extend and validate the current findings.

Activity-Based Prospective Memory in Insomniacs.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the activity-based prospective memory performance in patients with insomnia, divided, on the basis of actigraphic evaluation, into sleep onset, maintenance, mixed and negative misperception insomnia. METHODS: A total of 153 patients with insomnia (I, 83 females, mean age + SD = 41.37 + 16.19 years) and 121 healthy controls (HC, 78 females, mean age + SD = 36.99 + 14.91 years) wore an actigraph for one week. Insomnia was classified into sleep onset insomnia (SOI), maintenance insomnia (MaI), mixed insomnia (MixI) and negative misperception insomnia (NMI). To study their activity-based prospective memory performance, all the participants were required to push the actigraph event marker button twice, at bedtime (task 1) and at get-up time (task 2). RESULTS: Only patients with maintenance and mixed insomnia had a significantly lower accuracy in the activity-based prospective memory task at get-up time compared with the healthy controls. CONCLUSION: The results show that maintenance and mixed insomnia involve an impaired activity-based prospective memory performance, while sleep onset and negative misperception insomnia do not seem to be affected. This pattern of results suggests that the fragmentation of sleep may play a role in activity-based prospective memory efficiency at wake-up in the morning.

Evoking episodic and semantic details with instructional manipulation during autobiographical recall.

Older adults tend to describe experiences from their past with fewer episodic details, such as spatiotemporal and contextually specific information, but more nonepisodic details, particularly personal semantic knowledge, than younger adults. While the reduction in episodic details is interpreted in the context of episodic memory decline typical of aging, interpreting the increased production of semantic details is not as straightforward. We modified the widely used Autobiographical Interview (AI) to create a Semantic Autobiographical Interview (SAI) that explicitly targets personal (P-SAI) and general semantic memories (G-SAI) with the aim of better understanding the production of semantic information in aging depending on instructional manipulation. Overall, older adults produced a lower proportion of target details than young adults. There was an intra-individual consistency in the production of target details in the AI and P-SAI, suggesting a trait level in the production of personal target details or consistency in the narrative style and communicative goals adopted across interviews. Older adults consistently produced autobiographical facts and self-knowledge across interviews, suggesting that they are biased toward the production of personal semantic information regardless of instructions. These results cannot be easily accommodated by accounts of aging and memory emphasizing reduced cognitive control or compensation for episodic memory impairment. Nevertheless, future work is needed to fully disentangle between these accounts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Event representation at the scale of ordinary experience.

Weeks are divided into weekdays and weekends; years into semesters and seasons; lives into stages like childhood, adulthood, and adolescence. How does the structure of experience shape memory? Though much work has examined event representation in human cognition, little work has explored event representation at the scale of ordinary experience. Here, we use shared experiences - in the form of popular television shows - to explore how memories are shaped by event structure at a large scale. We find that memories for events in these shows exhibit several hallmarks of event cognition. Namely, we find that memories are organized with respect to their event structure (boundaries), and that beginnings and endings are better remembered at multiple levels of the event hierarchy simultaneously. These patterns seem to be partially, but not fully, explained by the perceived story-relevance of events. Lastly, using a longitudinal design, we also show how event representations evolve over periods of several months. These results offer an understanding of event cognition at the scale of ordinary human lives.

Episodic memory network characteristics in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment accompanied by executive function impairment.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the functional connectivity (FC) characteristics of the episodic memory network (EMN) in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients with different levels of executive function (EF). METHODS: This study included 76 participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database, comprising 23 healthy controls (HCs) and 53 aMCI patients. Based on EF levels, aMCI patients were categorized into aMCI-highEF and aMCI-lowEF groups. Cognitive function scores, pathological markers (cerebrospinal fluid ß-amyloid, total tau protein, phosphorylated tau protein, AV45-PET, and FDG-PET), and functional magnetic resonance imaging were collected and compared among the three groups. Seed-based FC analysis was used to examine differences in the EMN among the groups, and partial correlation analysis was employed to investigate the relationship between changes in FC and cognitive function scores as well as pathological markers. RESULTS: Compared to the aMCI-highEF group, the aMCI-lowEF group exhibited more severe cognitive impairment, decreased cerebral glucose metabolism, and elevated AV45 levels. Significant FC differences in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG) of the EMN were observed among the three groups. Post hoc analysis revealed that the aMCI-lowEF group had increased FC in the left STG compared to the HCs and aMCI-highEF groups, with statistically significant differences. Correlation analysis showed a significant negative correlation between the differences in FC in the left STG of aMCI-highEF and aMCI-lowEF groups and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test forgetting scores. Receiver operator characteristic curve analysis indicated an area under the curve of 0.741 for distinguishing between aMCI-highEF and aMCI-lowEF groups based on FC of left STG, with a sensitivity of 0.808 and a specificity of 0.667. CONCLUSION: aMCI-lowEF exhibits characteristic changes in FC within the EMN, providing theoretical support for the role of EF in mediating EMN alterations and, consequently, impacting episodic memory function.

A theory of hippocampal function: New developments.

We develop further here the only quantitative theory of the storage of information in the hippocampal episodic memory system and its recall back to the neocortex. The theory is upgraded to account for a revolution in understanding of spatial representations in the primate, including human, hippocampus, that go beyond the place where the individual is located, to the location being viewed in a scene. This is fundamental to much primate episodic memory and navigation: functions supported in humans by pathways that build 'where' spatial view representations by feature combinations in a ventromedial visual cortical stream, separate from those for 'what' object and face information to the inferior temporal visual cortex, and for reward information from the orbitofrontal cortex. Key new computational developments include the capacity of the CA3 attractor network for storing whole charts of space; how the correlations inherent in self-organizing continuous spatial representations impact the storage capacity; how the CA3 network can combine continuous spatial and discrete object and reward representations; the roles of the rewards that reach the hippocampus in the later consolidation into long-term memory in part via cholinergic pathways from the orbitofrontal cortex; and new ways of analysing neocortical information storage using Potts networks.

Replay of incidentally encoded novel odors in the rat.

Although events are not always known to be important when they occur, people can remember details about such incidentally encoded information using episodic memory. Sheridan et al. (2024) argued that rats replayed episodic memories of incidentally encoded information in an unexpected assessment of memory. In one task, rats reported the third-last item in an explicitly encoded list of trial-unique odors. In a second task, rats foraged in a radial maze in the absence of odors. On a critical test, rats foraged in the maze, but scented lids covered the food. Next, memory of the third-last odor was assessed. The rats correctly answered the unexpected question. Because the odors used in the critical test were the same as those used during training, automatically encoding odors for the purpose of taking an upcoming test of memory (stimulus generalization) may have been encouraged. Here, we provided an opportunity for incidental encoding of novel odors. Previously trained rats foraged in the radial maze with entirely novel odors covering the food. Next, memory of the third-last odor was assessed. The rats correctly answered the unexpected question. High accuracy when confronted with novel odors provides evidence that the rats did not automatically encode odors for the purpose of taking an upcoming test, ruling out stimulus generalization. We conclude that rats encode multiple pieces of putatively unimportant information, and later replayed a stream of novel episodic memories when that information was needed to solve an unexpected problem.

More than language is needed to represent and combine different core knowledge components.

We question Spelke's key claim that the medium, in which contents from different core knowledge systems can be represented and combined, is language-based. Recalling an episodic memory, playing chess, and conducting mental rotation are tasks where core knowledge information is represented and combined. Although these tasks can be described by means of language, these tasks are not inherently language-based. Hence, language may be an important subset of an abstraction medium - not the medium as such.

Recalled through this day but forgotten next week?-retrieval activity predicts durability of partly consolidated memories.

Even partly consolidated memories can be forgotten given sufficient time, but the brain activity associated with durability of episodic memory at different time scales remains unclear. Here, we aimed to identify brain activity associated with retrieval of partly consolidated episodic memories that continued to be remembered in the future. Forty-nine younger (20 to 38 years; 25 females) and 43 older adults (60 to 80 years, 25 females) were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging during associative memory retrieval 12 h post-encoding. Twelve hours is sufficient to allow short-term synaptic consolidation as well as early post-encoding replay to initiate memory consolidation. Successful memory trials were classified into durable and transient source memories based on responses from a memory test ~6 d post-encoding. Results demonstrated that successful retrieval of future durable vs. transient memories was supported by increased activity in a medial prefrontal and ventral parietal area. Individual differences in activation as well as the subjective vividness of memories during encoding were positively related to individual differences in memory performance after 6 d. The results point to a unique and novel aspect of brain activity supporting long-term memory, in that activity during retrieval of memories even after 12 h of consolidation contains information about potential for long-term durability.

The hippocampus supports precise memory for public events regardless of their remoteness.

The necessity of the human hippocampus and surrounding medial temporal lobe structures to semantic memory remains contentious. Impaired semantic memory following hippocampal lesions could arise either due to partially intertwined episodic memories and/or retrograde/anterograde effects. In this study, we tested amnesic individuals with lesions in hippocampus and surrounding medial temporal lobe (n = 7) and age-matched controls (n = 14) on their ability to precisely recall the dates of famous public events that occurred either before (i.e., pre-lifetime) or after participants' birth date (lifetime). We show that deficits in dating precision are greatest for recent lifetime events, consistent with the notion that recent event memory may be particularly intertwined with episodic memory. At the same time, individuals with medial temporal lobe lesions showed more subtle impairments in their ability to date pre-birth and remote lifetime events precisely. Together, these findings suggest that the hippocampus and surrounding medial temporal lobe structures are important for representational precision of semantic memories regardless of their remoteness.

Modulation of hippocampal theta oscillations via deep brain stimulation of the parietal cortex depends on cognitive state.

The angular gyrus (AG) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) demonstrate extensive structural and functional connectivity with the hippocampus and other core recollection network regions. Consequently, recent studies have explored neuromodulation targeting these and other regions as a potential strategy for restoring function in memory disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease. However, determining the optimal approach for neuromodulatory devices requires understanding how parameters like selected stimulation site, cognitive state during modulation, and stimulation duration influence the effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) on electrophysiological features relevant to episodic memory. We report experimental data examining the effects of high-frequency stimulation delivered to the AG or PCC on hippocampal theta oscillations during the memory encoding (study) or retrieval (test) phases of an episodic memory task. Results showed selective enhancement of anterior hippocampal slow theta oscillations with stimulation of the AG preferentially during memory retrieval. Conversely, stimulation of the PCC attenuated slow theta oscillations. We did not observe significant behavioral effects in this (open-loop) stimulation experiment, suggesting that neuromodulation strategies targeting episodic memory performance may require more temporally precise stimulation approaches.

Constructive Memory and Conscious Experience.

Episodic memory relies on constructive processes that support simulating novel future events by flexibly recombining elements of past experiences, and that can also give rise to memory errors. In recent studies, we have developed methods to characterize the cognitive and neural processes that support conscious experiences linked to this process of episodic recombination, both when people simulate novel future events and commit recombination-related memory errors. In this Perspective, we summarize recent studies that illustrate these phenomena, and discuss broader implications for characterizing the basis of conscious experiences associated with constructive memory from a cognitive neuroscience perspective.

Reserve, resilience and maintenance of episodic memory and other cognitive functions in aging.

We tested if cognitive and brain reserve and maintenance explain individual differences in episodic memory and other cognitive domains from late middle to early older adulthood. We used The Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging data (n=1604 men) with episodic memory measured at mean ages of 56, 62 and 68 years, and magnetic resonance imaging data for a subsample of participants (n=321). Cognitive reserve -young adult general cognitive ability at a mean age of 20 years and, to a lesser degree, educational attainment- was positively related to episodic memory performance at each assessment, but not to memory change. We found no evidence for the associations of brain reserve or brain maintenance on memory change. Results were highly similar when looking at processing speed, executive function and verbal fluency. In conclusion, higher young adult cognitive reserve was related to better episodic memory in midlife and older adulthood, but it did not confer better cognitive maintenance with respect to memory. This supports the importance of early cognitive development in dementia prevention.

Developmental refinements to neural attentional state during semantic memory retrieval through adolescence.

Despite the fact that attention undergoes protracted development, little is known about how it may support memory refinements in childhood and adolescence. Here, we asked whether people differentially focus their attention on semantic or perceptual information over development during memory retrieval. First, we trained a multivoxel classifier to characterize whole-brain neural patterns reflecting semantic versus perceptual attention in a cued attention task. We then used this classifier to quantify how attention varied in a separate dataset in which children, adolescents, and adults retrieved autobiographical, semantic, and episodic memories. All age groups demonstrated a semantic attentional bias during memory retrieval, with significant age differences in this bias during the semantic task. Trials began with a preparatory picture cue followed by a retrieval question, which allowed us to ask whether attentional biases varied by trial period. Adults showed a semantic bias earlier during the picture cues, whereas adolescents showed this bias during the question. Adults and adolescents also engaged different brain regions-superior parietal cortex and ventral visual regions, respectively-during preparatory picture cues. Our results demonstrate that retrieval-related attention undergoes refinement beyond childhood. These findings suggest that alongside expanding semantic knowledge, attention-related changes may support the maturation of factual knowledge retrieval.

Memory for emotional information in sporadic and Type 8 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is often shown to cause episodic memory deficits. Here, we investigated whether such memory deficits are differentially expressed according to the emotional valence of stimuli and whether they are similarly reproduced in both individuals with sporadic ALS (sALS) and familial Type 8 ALS (ALS8). METHOD: Twenty individuals with sALS, 18 individuals with ALS8, and 19 healthy controls were recruited for the study. After a neuropsychological and psychopathological assessment, all participants responded to a recognition memory test wherein images varying in terms of valence were initially shown. After a short interval, the images were shown again intermixed with new images, and the participants' task was to indicate whether each image was "old" or "new" and to estimate the confidence in their responses. RESULTS: Both the sALS and the ALS8 groups showed significantly lower recognition of positive relative to negative valence images (d = 0.92 and d = 0.74, respectively), an effect that was completely absent for healthy controls (d = 0.17). These effects were qualified by a significant interaction involving the factors of valence and group (ηp² = 0.12). CONCLUSIONS: The current findings demonstrate that sALS and ALS8 are associated with decreased recognition of emotional information, an effect that is nonetheless restricted to positive valence stimuli. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Recalling and anticipating positive events to improve the positive affect and mental health of adolescents: A cluster randomized controlled trial in secondary schools.

This cluster randomized controlled trial examined the effectiveness of Positive Events Training (PET), a combined group training aimed at simultaneously improving positive autobiographical memory (AM) and episodic future thinking (EFT) among adolescents (12-16 years). Delivered as a universal school-based program, PET was compared with an active (creative writing) control group (CREAT). Effects on resilience, wellbeing, positive emotions, emotional response styles towards positive emotions (savoring, dampening), anhedonia, depressive symptoms, and multiple AM and EFT indices were examined. Adolescents (NPET = 95, NCREAT = 93) completed self-report scales at baseline, post-training and two-month follow-up. Multilevel models revealed that PET led to significant improvements in certain AM and EFT skills. Moreover, a decrease in anhedonia was observed at post-training. However, this effect did not withstand correction for multiple testing. Absence of changes in the other outcomes should be interpreted within the context of the universal school-based approach and the potential limited scope for detectable changes. Exploratory analyses suggest the importance of further investigating PET's potential in addressing positive affect dysregulations in indicated samples, and exploring perceived likelihood of generated future events and dampening as potential underlying mechanisms. Study limitations and future directions to maximize the demonstrated potential of PET are discussed.

Specificity and valence of adolescents' turning point memory narratives: Relationships with depressive symptoms over time.

Although recent research suggests that, for community youth, greater specific (episodic) detail in self-relevant turning point memory narratives predicts depressive symptoms over time, no research has investigated whether the narratives' specificity similarly predicts depression. Therefore, we investigated whether recalling a specific (unique, 24-hour or less) turning point narrative predicted youth depressive symptoms concurrently and across 6 months (Study 1), and, for a subset of participants, three years (Study 2). We also examined whether the valence of the implication of the experience for self (the resolution) explained additional variance and interacted with memory specificity. For Study 1 (N = 320, M = 16.9 years, 81% female), a specific (rather than a non-specific) turning point predicted greater depressive symptoms concurrently but not longitudinally, whereas a negative resolution predicted both concurrent and longitudinal depressive symptoms. The moderation result showed that a specific turning point predicted escalating depressive symptoms across six months when the resolution was negative. Study 2 (N = 68) additionally showed that a specific turning point predicted increased depressive symptoms three years later. These findings contrast with research suggesting that specific memories are related to better mental health and highlight the complexity of the role of memory in emerging youth depression.