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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Main Authors: Deirdre M. O’Shea, Kailey Langer, Adam J. Woods, Eric C. Porges, John B. Williamson, Andrew O’Shea, Ronald A. Cohen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-11-01
Series:Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
Subjects:
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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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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