Hostname: page-component-74656f9884-npj9w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-07T23:35:59.277Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Worth the Wait: Delayed Recall after 1 Week Predicts Cognitive and Medial Temporal Lobe Trajectories in Older Adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2020

Cutter A. Lindbergh*
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Nicole Walker
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Renaud La Joie
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Sophia Weiner-Light
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Adam M. Staffaroni
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Kaitlin B. Casaletto
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Fanny Elahi
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Samantha M. Walters
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Michelle You
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Devyn Cotter
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Breton Asken
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Alexandra C. Apple
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Elena Tsoy
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
John Neuhaus
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Corrina Fonseca
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Amy Wolf
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Yann Cobigo
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Howie Rosen
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Joel H. Kramer
Affiliation:
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Dr. Cutter A. Lindbergh, Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, 675 Nelson Rising Lane, Suite 190, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. E-mail: Cutter.Lindbergh@ucsf.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective: We evaluated whether memory recall following an extended (1 week) delay predicts cognitive and brain structural trajectories in older adults
Method:

Clinically normal older adults (52–92 years old) were followed longitudinally for up to 8 years after completing a memory paradigm at baseline [Story Recall Test (SRT)] that assessed delayed recall at 30 min and 1 week. Subsets of the cohort underwent neuroimaging (N = 134, mean age = 75) and neuropsychological testing (N = 178–207, mean ages = 74–76) at annual study visits occurring approximately 15–18 months apart. Mixed-effects regression models evaluated if baseline SRT performance predicted longitudinal changes in gray matter volumes and cognitive composite scores, controlling for demographics.

Results:

Worse SRT 1-week recall was associated with more precipitous rates of longitudinal decline in medial temporal lobe volumes (p = .037), episodic memory (p = .003), and executive functioning (p = .011), but not occipital lobe or total gray matter volumes (demonstrating neuroanatomical specificity; p > .58). By contrast, SRT 30-min recall was only associated with longitudinal decline in executive functioning (p = .044).

Conclusions:

Memory paradigms that capture longer-term recall may be particularly sensitive to age-related medial temporal lobe changes and neurodegenerative disease trajectories. (JINS, 2020, xx, xx-xx)

Information

Type
Brief Communication
Copyright
Copyright © INS. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2020
Figure 0

Table 1. Descriptive statistics

Figure 1

Fig. 1. Worse 1-week delayed recall on the Story Recall Test (SRT) at baseline was associated with significantly steeper rates of longitudinal decline in episodic memory (California Verbal Learning Test and Benson Figure Recall composite score) and MTL (medial temporal lobe) volumes. To depict these interactions (SRT 1-week × time), episodic memory trajectories [Panel (a)] and MTL volume trajectories [Panel (b)] with 95% confidence intervals are plotted at various levels of 1-week recall performance in our sample, including the 1st percentile (SRT = 0/20 units recalled), 10th percentile (SRT = 7/20 units recalled), 25th percentile (SRT = 10/20 units recalled), 50th percentile (SRT = 14/20 units recalled), 75th percentile (SRT = 16/20 units recalled), and 99th percentile (SRT = 19/20 units recalled). It should be kept in mind, however, that SRT performance was treated as a continuous variable in our analyses; the delineation of the sample into representative percentiles is presented here solely to assist in visualizing the SRT 1-week × time interactions.

Supplementary material: File

Lindbergh et al. supplementary material

Lindbergh et al. supplementary material

Download Lindbergh et al. supplementary material(File)
File 255.1 KB