scholarly journals Association Between Elevated Depressive Symptoms and Cognitive Function Moderated by APOE4 Status: Framingham Offspring Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Ryan J. Piers ◽  
Yulin Liu ◽  
Ting F.A. Ang ◽  
Qiushan Tao ◽  
Rhoda Au ◽  
...  

Background: Depression and Apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) are associated with decreased cognitive function and differences in brain structure. Objective: This study investigated whether APOE4 status moderates the association between elevated depressive symptoms, cognitive function, and brain structure. Methods: Stroke- and dementia-free participants (n = 1,968) underwent neuropsychological evaluation, brain MRI, and depression screening. Linear and logistic regression was used to examine all associations. Secondary analyses were performed using interaction terms to assess effect modification by APOE4 status. Results: Elevated depressive symptoms were associated with lower cognitive performance in several domains. In stratified analyses, elevated depressive symptoms were associated with poorer visual short- and long-term memory performance for APOE4 + participants. Elevated depressive symptoms were not associated with any brain structure in this study sample. Conclusion: Elevated depressive symptoms impact cognitive function in non-demented individuals. Having the APOE4 allele may exacerbate the deleterious effects of elevated depressive symptoms on visual memory performance. Screening for elevated depressive symptoms in both research studies and clinical practice may be warranted to avoid false positive identification of neurodegeneration, particularly among those who are APOE4 + .

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 267-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Skodzik ◽  
Heinz Holling ◽  
Anya Pedersen

Objective: Memory problems are a frequently reported symptom in adult ADHD, and it is well-documented that adults with ADHD perform poorly on long-term memory tests. However, the cause of this effect is still controversial. The present meta-analysis examined underlying mechanisms that may lead to long-term memory impairments in adult ADHD. Method: We performed separate meta-analyses of measures of memory acquisition and long-term memory using both verbal and visual memory tests. In addition, the influence of potential moderator variables was examined. Results: Adults with ADHD performed significantly worse than controls on verbal but not on visual long-term memory and memory acquisition subtests. The long-term memory deficit was strongly statistically related to the memory acquisition deficit. In contrast, no retrieval problems were observable. Conclusion: Our results suggest that memory deficits in adult ADHD reflect a learning deficit induced at the stage of encoding. Implications for clinical and research settings are presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 1196-1213
Author(s):  
Alicia Forsberg ◽  
Wendy Johnson ◽  
Robert H. Logie

Abstract The decline of working memory (WM) is a common feature of general cognitive decline, and visual and verbal WM capacity appear to decline at different rates with age. Visual material may be remembered via verbal codes or visual traces, or both. Souza and Skóra, Cognition, 166, 277–297 (2017) found that labeling boosted memory in younger adults by activating categorical visual long-term memory (LTM) knowledge. Here, we replicated this and tested whether it held in healthy older adults. We compared performance in silence, under instructed overt labeling (participants were asked to say color names out loud), and articulatory suppression (repeating irrelevant syllables to prevent labeling) in the delayed estimation paradigm. Overt labeling improved memory performance in both age groups. However, comparing the effect of overt labeling and suppression on the number of coarse, categorical representations in the two age groups suggested that older adults used verbal labels subvocally more than younger adults, when performing the task in silence. Older adults also appeared to benefit from labels differently than younger adults. In younger adults labeling appeared to improve visual, continuous memory, suggesting that labels activated visual LTM representations. However, for older adults, labels did not appear to enhance visual, continuous representations, but instead boosted memory via additional verbal (categorical) memory traces. These results challenged the assumption that visual memory paradigms measure the same cognitive ability in younger and older adults, and highlighted the importance of controlling differences in age-related strategic preferences in visual memory tasks.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J. Spriggs ◽  
C.S. Thompson ◽  
D Moreau ◽  
N.A. McNair ◽  
C.C. Wu ◽  
...  

BackgroundLong-Term Potentiation (LTP) is recognised as a core neuronal process underlying long-term memory. However, a direct relationship between LTP and human memory performance is yet to be demonstrated. The first aim of the current study was thus to assess the relationship between LTP and human long-term memory performance. With this also comes an opportunity to explore factors thought to mediate the relationship between LTP and long-term memory, and to gain additional insight into variations in memory function and memory decline. The second aim of the current study was to explore the relationship between LTP and memory in groups differing with respect to BDNF Val66Met; a single nucleotide polymorphism implicated in memory function.Methods28 participants (15 female) were split into three genotype groups (Val/Val, Val/Met, Met/Met) and were presented with both an EEG paradigm for inducing LTP-like enhancements of the visually-evoked response, and a test of visual memory.ResultsThe magnitude of LTP 40 minutes after induction was predictive of long-term memory performance. Additionally, the BDNF Met allele was associated with both reduced LTP and reduced memory performance.ConclusionsThe current study not only presents the first evidence for a relationship between sensory LTP and human memory performance, but also demonstrates how targeting this relationship can provide insight into factors implicated in variation in human memory performance. It is anticipated that this will be of utility to future clinical studies of disrupted memory function.


2020 ◽  
Vol 150 (6) ◽  
pp. 1529-1534
Author(s):  
Fateme Zabetian-Targhi ◽  
Velandai K Srikanth ◽  
Richard Beare ◽  
Chris Moran ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Background Cognitive dysfunction is common in older adults, particularly in those with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Higher adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is associated with better brain health. However, it is unclear if adherence to the Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG) is associated with cognition or brain structure in older adults. Objective The aims of this study were to 1) examine the relation between adherence to the ADG, cognition, and brain MRI and 2) determine whether T2D modifies any associations. Methods The Cognition and Diabetes in Older Tasmanians Study is a cross-sectional study in 688 people (n = 343 with T2D) aged 55–90 y. A validated 80-item food-frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake. Adherence to the 2013 ADG was estimated using the Dietary Guidelines Index (DGI). Cognitive function in multiple domains was assessed with a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests and brain structure with MRI. Multivariable linear models were used to assess the associations between DGI, cognitive z scores, and brain structure. Effect modification for T2D was examined with a DGI × T2D product term. Results The mean age of the sample was 69.9 y (SD: 7.4 y), with 57.1% men. The mean DGI was 54.8 (SD: 10.7; range: 24.1–84.6). No associations were observed between the Australian DGI and cognition or brain MRI measures. T2D did not modify any associations (P > 0.05). Conclusions This is the first study to investigate associations between adherence to the ADG and brain health in the older adults with and without T2D. Future prospective studies are required to clarify if there are long-term associations.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Debora Melo van Lent ◽  
Adrienne O’Donnell ◽  
Alexa S. Beiser ◽  
Ramachandran S. Vasan ◽  
Charles S. DeCarli ◽  
...  

Background: Adherence to the Mediterranean-DASH for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet has previously been associated with cognitive decline and dementia. To our knowledge, no prior study has investigated the association between the MIND diet and measures of brain volume, silent brain infarcts (SBIs), or brain atrophy. Objective: We evaluated whether adherence to the MIND diet associated with superior cognitive function, larger brain volumes, fewer SBIs, and less cognitive decline in the community-based Framingham Heart Study. Methods: 2,092 participants (mean±SD, age 61±9) completed Food Frequency Questionnaires, averaged across a maximum of 3-time points (examination cycles 5, 6, and 7), cognitive testing at examination cycle 7 (present study baseline: 1998–2001) and after a mean±SD of 6.6±1.1 years from baseline (n = 1,584). A subset of participants also completed brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at examination cycle 7 (n = 1,904). In addition, participants with dementia, stroke, and other relevant neurological diseases such as significant head trauma, subdural hematoma, or multiple sclerosis were excluded from the analyses. Results: Higher MIND diet scores were associated with better global cognitive function (β±SE,+0.03SD±0.01; p = 0.004), verbal memory, visual memory, processing speed, verbal comprehension/reasoning, and with larger total brain volume (TBV) following adjustments for clinical, lifestyle and demographic covariates, but not with other brain MRI measures (i.e., hippocampal volume, lateral ventricular volume, white matter hyperintensity volume, SBIs) or cognitive decline. Conclusion: Higher MIND diet scores associated with better cognitive performance and larger TBV at baseline, but not with cognitive decline. Clinical trials are needed to ascertain whether adopting the MIND diet affects trajectories of cognitive decline.


Author(s):  
Yuhao Sun ◽  
Jiawei Geng ◽  
Xuejie Chen ◽  
Hui Chen ◽  
Xiaoyan Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The association between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and dementia remains uncertain. We aim to investigate whether IBD is associated with higher dementia risk. Methods Using multivariable Cox regression models, we analyzed the onset of all-cause dementia among 497,775 participants, including 5778 IBD patients in the UK Biobank as primary analysis. In secondary analysis, we further examined the difference in brain structure and cognitive function changes between IBD and non-IBD individuals. The diagnosis of IBD and dementia was confirmed with combination of primary care data, hospital inpatient data, death registry, and self-report data. Brain structure was measured by brain MRI as anatomic and tissue-specific volumes; cognitive function was tested in terms of reaction, visual episodic memory, verbal-numerical reasoning, and prospective memory. Results During a mean follow-up of 11.58 years, 100 and 6709 incident all-cause dementia with or without IBD were documented, respectively. In multivariable Cox regression model, hazard ratio for incident dementia among IBD patients was 1.14 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.94-1.39; P=.182) comparing with non-IBD participants; no statistically significant difference was observed in their brain MRI measures of anatomic and tissue-specific volumes, whereas IBD patients had a significantly increased reaction time (β=12.32; 95% CI, 1.97, 22.67; P = .020). Results of subgroup and sensitivity analyses were consistent with the main analysis. Conclusions Our study does not support a significant association between IBD and dementia. Further studies with better design and longer follow-up are needed to elucidate the association.


Author(s):  
Ian Neath ◽  
Jean Saint-Aubin ◽  
Tamra J. Bireta ◽  
Andrew J. Gabel ◽  
Chelsea G. Hudson ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
T.G. Vargas ◽  
V.A. Mittal

Abstract Discrimination has been associated with adverse mental health outcomes, though it is unclear how early in life this association becomes apparent. Implicit emotion regulation, developing during childhood, is a foundational skill tied to a range of outcomes. Implicit emotion regulation has yet to be tested as an associated process for mental illness symptoms that can often emerge during this sensitive developmental period. Youth aged 9–11 were recruited for the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Associations between psychotic-like experiences, depressive symptoms, and total discrimination (due to race, ethnicity, nationality, weight, or sexual minority status) were tested, as well as associations with implicit emotion regulation measures (emotional updating working memory and inhibitory control). Analyses examined whether associations with symptoms were mediated by implicit emotion regulation. Discrimination related to decreased implicit emotion regulation performance, and increased endorsement of depressive symptoms and psychotic-like experiences. Emotional updating working memory performance partially mediated the association between discrimination and psychotic-like experiences, while emotional inhibitory control did not. Discrimination and implicit emotion regulation could serve as putative transdiagnostic markers of vulnerability. Results support the utility of using multiple units of analysis to improve understanding of complex emerging neurocognitive functions and developmentally sensitive periods.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Danelly Rodríguez ◽  
Emmeline Ayers ◽  
Erica F. Weiss ◽  
Joe Verghese

Background: Very few studies have explored the utility of subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs) in primary care settings. Objective: We aim to investigate associations between SCCs (item-level), objective cognitive function (across domains and global), and mood in a diverse primary care population, including subjects with mild cognitive impairment. Methods: We studied 199 (75.9%females; 57.8%Hispanics; 42.2%African Americans) older adults (mean age 72.5 years) with memory concerns at a primary care clinic. A five-item SCC questionnaire, and objective cognitive assessments, including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Geriatric Depression Scale, were administered. Results: Logistic regression analyses showed associations between SCC score and depressive symptoms. A memory-specific (“memory worsening”) SCC predicted scores on the MoCA (p = 0.005) in Hispanics. Conclusion: SCCs are strongly linked to depressive symptoms in African Americans and Hispanics in a primary care setting; a specific type of SCC is related to global cognitive function in Hispanics.


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