Neuron
Volume 44, Issue 1, 30 September 2004, Pages 195-208
Journal home page for Neuron

Review
Memory and Executive Function in Aging and AD: Multiple Factors that Cause Decline and Reserve Factors that Compensate

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2004.09.006Get rights and content
Under an Elsevier user license
open archive

Abstract

Memory decline in aging results from multiple factors that influence both executive function and the medial temporal lobe memory system. In advanced aging, frontal-striatal systems are preferentially vulnerable to white matter change, atrophy, and certain forms of neurotransmitter depletion. Frontal-striatal change may underlie mild memory difficulties in aging that are most apparent on tasks demanding high levels of attention and controlled processing. Through separate mechanisms, Alzheimer's disease preferentially affects the medial temporal lobe and cortical networks, including posterior cingulate and retrosplenial cortex early in its progression, often before clinical symptoms are recognized. Disruption of the medial temporal lobe memory system leads directly to memory impairment. Recent findings further suggest that age-associated change is not received passively. Reliance on reserve is emerging as an important factor that determines who ages gracefully and who declines rapidly. Functional imaging studies, in particular, suggest increased recruitment of brain areas in older adults that may reflect a form of compensation.

Cited by (0)