Educational Attainment Moderates the Association Between Hippocampal Volumes and Memory Performances in Healthy Older Adults
Objective: To examine whether educational attainment, as a proxy of cognitive reserve, moderated the association between hippocampal volumes and episodic verbal memory performances in healthy older adults.Methods: Data from 76 community dwelling older adults were included in the present study. Measu...
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Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-11-01
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Series: | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience |
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Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2018.00361/full |
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author | Deirdre M. O’Shea Deirdre M. O’Shea Kailey Langer Adam J. Woods Adam J. Woods Adam J. Woods Eric C. Porges Eric C. Porges John B. Williamson John B. Williamson John B. Williamson John B. Williamson Andrew O’Shea Andrew O’Shea Ronald A. Cohen Ronald A. Cohen Ronald A. Cohen |
author_facet | Deirdre M. O’Shea Deirdre M. O’Shea Kailey Langer Adam J. Woods Adam J. Woods Adam J. Woods Eric C. Porges Eric C. Porges John B. Williamson John B. Williamson John B. Williamson John B. Williamson Andrew O’Shea Andrew O’Shea Ronald A. Cohen Ronald A. Cohen Ronald A. Cohen |
author_sort | Deirdre M. O’Shea |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Objective: To examine whether educational attainment, as a proxy of cognitive reserve, moderated the association between hippocampal volumes and episodic verbal memory performances in healthy older adults.Methods: Data from 76 community dwelling older adults were included in the present study. Measures of hippocampal volumes (total, left, and right) were obtained using FreeSurfer software. Immediate and delayed verbal recall scores were derived from performances on the California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition and the Wechsler Memory Scale- Third Edition. Educational attainment was defined by years of education. Linear regression analyses were performed using immediate and delayed recall as dependent variables and hippocampal volumes, years of education, and their interaction terms as independent variables. All analyses were controlled for age, sex, depression, and health status.Results: Total and left Hippocampal volumes had a positive main effect on delayed recall only. Additionally, the interaction between total, left, and right hippocampal volumes and education was a significant predictor for delayed recall performance but not for immediate recall performance. The positive association between hippocampal volumes and delayed recall was greatest in those with more years of education.Conclusion: Larger hippocampal volumes were associated with better delayed verbal recall and the effect on delayed recall was greatest in those with more years of education. Having higher levels of education, or cognitive reserve, may enable individuals to capitalize on greater structural integrity in the hippocampus to support delayed recall in old age. However, longitudinal research is needed to investigate the directionality of these associations. |
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language | English |
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publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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series | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience |
spelling | doaj.art-e27741bb56d44ec280e210bd780564ee2022-12-22T03:08:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience1663-43652018-11-011010.3389/fnagi.2018.00361410509Educational Attainment Moderates the Association Between Hippocampal Volumes and Memory Performances in Healthy Older AdultsDeirdre M. O’Shea0Deirdre M. O’Shea1Kailey Langer2Adam J. Woods3Adam J. Woods4Adam J. Woods5Eric C. Porges6Eric C. Porges7John B. Williamson8John B. Williamson9John B. Williamson10John B. Williamson11Andrew O’Shea12Andrew O’Shea13Ronald A. Cohen14Ronald A. Cohen15Ronald A. Cohen16Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesCenter for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesDepartment of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesCenter for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesDepartment of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesBrain Rehabilitation Research Center – Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesCenter for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesCenter for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesDepartment of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United StatesObjective: To examine whether educational attainment, as a proxy of cognitive reserve, moderated the association between hippocampal volumes and episodic verbal memory performances in healthy older adults.Methods: Data from 76 community dwelling older adults were included in the present study. Measures of hippocampal volumes (total, left, and right) were obtained using FreeSurfer software. Immediate and delayed verbal recall scores were derived from performances on the California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition and the Wechsler Memory Scale- Third Edition. Educational attainment was defined by years of education. Linear regression analyses were performed using immediate and delayed recall as dependent variables and hippocampal volumes, years of education, and their interaction terms as independent variables. All analyses were controlled for age, sex, depression, and health status.Results: Total and left Hippocampal volumes had a positive main effect on delayed recall only. Additionally, the interaction between total, left, and right hippocampal volumes and education was a significant predictor for delayed recall performance but not for immediate recall performance. The positive association between hippocampal volumes and delayed recall was greatest in those with more years of education.Conclusion: Larger hippocampal volumes were associated with better delayed verbal recall and the effect on delayed recall was greatest in those with more years of education. Having higher levels of education, or cognitive reserve, may enable individuals to capitalize on greater structural integrity in the hippocampus to support delayed recall in old age. However, longitudinal research is needed to investigate the directionality of these associations.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2018.00361/fullHippocampusepisodic memorycognitive reserveeducational attainmentcognitive aging |
spellingShingle | Deirdre M. O’Shea Deirdre M. O’Shea Kailey Langer Adam J. Woods Adam J. Woods Adam J. Woods Eric C. Porges Eric C. Porges John B. Williamson John B. Williamson John B. Williamson John B. Williamson Andrew O’Shea Andrew O’Shea Ronald A. Cohen Ronald A. Cohen Ronald A. Cohen Educational Attainment Moderates the Association Between Hippocampal Volumes and Memory Performances in Healthy Older Adults Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience Hippocampus episodic memory cognitive reserve educational attainment cognitive aging |
title | Educational Attainment Moderates the Association Between Hippocampal Volumes and Memory Performances in Healthy Older Adults |
title_full | Educational Attainment Moderates the Association Between Hippocampal Volumes and Memory Performances in Healthy Older Adults |
title_fullStr | Educational Attainment Moderates the Association Between Hippocampal Volumes and Memory Performances in Healthy Older Adults |
title_full_unstemmed | Educational Attainment Moderates the Association Between Hippocampal Volumes and Memory Performances in Healthy Older Adults |
title_short | Educational Attainment Moderates the Association Between Hippocampal Volumes and Memory Performances in Healthy Older Adults |
title_sort | educational attainment moderates the association between hippocampal volumes and memory performances in healthy older adults |
topic | Hippocampus episodic memory cognitive reserve educational attainment cognitive aging |
url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2018.00361/full |
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