Working memory, age and education: A lifespan fMRI study

PLoS One. 2018 Mar 27;13(3):e0194878. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194878. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Ageing is associated with grey matter atrophy and changes in task-related neural activations. This study investigated the effects of age and education on neural activation during a spatial working memory task in 189 participants aged between 20-80 years old, whilst controlling for grey matter density. Age was related to linear decreases in neural activation in task activated areas, and this effect was no longer significant when adjusting for education or accuracy. Age was also related to cubic increases in neural activation in non-task related areas, such as the temporal gyrus, cuneus and cerebellum when adjusting for accuracy and education. These findings support previous lifespan datasets indicating linear age-related decreases in task activation, but non-linear increases in non-task related areas during episodic memory tasks. The findings also support past studies indicating education offers a form of cognitive reserve through providing a form of neural compensation and highlights the need to consider education in ageing studies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aging*
  • Behavior
  • Brain / diagnostic imaging*
  • Brain Mapping
  • Educational Status*
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
  • Memory, Short-Term / physiology*
  • Middle Aged
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Spatial Analysis
  • Task Performance and Analysis
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Singapore Ministry of Education AcRF Tier 1 grant (RG41/08), Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 2 (MOE2012-T2-2-130), the Young Investigator Award at the National University of Singapore (NUSYIA FY10 P07), and the Singapore Ministry of Health’s National Medical Research Council (NMRC; NMRC/CBRG/0039/2013), all awarded to AQ. JA was funded by the NTU Humanities and Social Sciences post-doctoral fellowship. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.