Adam M Staffaroni1, Rebecca J Melrose1,2, Lorraine P Leskin1, Hannah Riskin-Jones1, Dylan Harwood1,2, Mark Mandelkern3,4, David L Sultzer1,2. 1. a Brain, Behavior & Aging Research Center , VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System , Los Angeles , CA , USA. 2. b Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences , David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA , Los Angeles , CA , USA. 3. c Nuclear Medicine Service , VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System , Los Angeles , CA , USA. 4. d Department of Physics , University of California , Irvine , CA , USA.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to distinguish the functional neuroanatomy of verbal learning and recognition in Alzheimer's disease (AD) using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) Word Learning task. METHOD: In 81 Veterans diagnosed with dementia due to AD, we conducted a cluster-based correlation analysis to assess the relationships between recency and recognition memory scores from the CERAD Word Learning Task and cortical metabolic activity measured using [18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). RESULTS: AD patients (Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE mean = 20.2) performed significantly better on the recall of recency items during learning trials than of primacy and middle items. Recency memory was associated with cerebral metabolism in the left middle and inferior temporal gyri and left fusiform gyrus (p < .05 at the corrected cluster level). In contrast, recognition memory was correlated with metabolic activity in two clusters: (a) a large cluster that included the left hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, entorhinal cortex, anterior temporal lobe, and inferior and middle temporal gyri; (b) the bilateral orbitofrontal cortices (OFC). CONCLUSIONS: The present study further informs our understanding of the disparate functional neuroanatomy of recency memory and recognition memory in AD. We anticipated that the recency effect would be relatively preserved and associated with temporoparietal brain regions implicated in short-term verbal memory, while recognition memory would be associated with the medial temporal lobe and possibly the OFC. Consistent with our a priori hypotheses, list learning in our AD sample was characterized by a reduced primacy effect and a relatively spared recency effect; however, recency memory was associated with cerebral metabolism in inferior and lateral temporal regions associated with the semantic memory network, rather than regions associated with short-term verbal memory. The correlates of recognition memory included the medial temporal lobe and OFC, replicating prior studies.
INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to distinguish the functional neuroanatomy of verbal learning and recognition in Alzheimer's disease (AD) using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) Word Learning task. METHOD: In 81 Veterans diagnosed with dementia due to AD, we conducted a cluster-based correlation analysis to assess the relationships between recency and recognition memory scores from the CERAD Word Learning Task and cortical metabolic activity measured using [18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). RESULTS:ADpatients (Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE mean = 20.2) performed significantly better on the recall of recency items during learning trials than of primacy and middle items. Recency memory was associated with cerebral metabolism in the left middle and inferior temporal gyri and left fusiform gyrus (p < .05 at the corrected cluster level). In contrast, recognition memory was correlated with metabolic activity in two clusters: (a) a large cluster that included the left hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, entorhinal cortex, anterior temporal lobe, and inferior and middle temporal gyri; (b) the bilateral orbitofrontal cortices (OFC). CONCLUSIONS: The present study further informs our understanding of the disparate functional neuroanatomy of recency memory and recognition memory in AD. We anticipated that the recency effect would be relatively preserved and associated with temporoparietal brain regions implicated in short-term verbal memory, while recognition memory would be associated with the medial temporal lobe and possibly the OFC. Consistent with our a priori hypotheses, list learning in our AD sample was characterized by a reduced primacy effect and a relatively spared recency effect; however, recency memory was associated with cerebral metabolism in inferior and lateral temporal regions associated with the semantic memory network, rather than regions associated with short-term verbal memory. The correlates of recognition memory included the medial temporal lobe and OFC, replicating prior studies.
Authors: Annika Kreuzer; Julia Sauerbeck; Maximilian Scheifele; Anna Stockbauer; Sonja Schönecker; Catharina Prix; Elisabeth Wlasich; Sandra V Loosli; Philipp M Kazmierczak; Marcus Unterrainer; Cihan Catak; Daniel Janowitz; Oliver Pogarell; Carla Palleis; Robert Perneczky; Nathalie L Albert; Peter Bartenstein; Adrian Danek; Katharina Buerger; Johannes Levin; Andreas Zwergal; Axel Rominger; Matthias Brendel; Leonie Beyer Journal: Front Aging Neurosci Date: 2021-02-02 Impact factor: 5.750