Improved Mood Boosts Memory Training Gains in Older Adults With Subjective Memory Complaints via Enhanced Amygdala-hippocampal Connectivity

Shufei Yin; Junhua Xiao; Xinyi Zhu; Rui Li; Juan Li

doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2023.04.003

Improved Mood Boosts Memory Training Gains in Older Adults With Subjective Memory Complaints via Enhanced Amygdala-hippocampal Connectivity

Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2023 Oct;31(10):808-819. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2023.04.003. Epub 2023 Apr 13.

Authors

Shufei Yin¹, Junhua Xiao², Xinyi Zhu³, Rui Li³, Juan Li⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education (SY, JX), Hubei University, Wuhan, China; Center on Aging Psychology, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health (SY, XZ, RL, JL), Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology (SY), Beijing Key Lab of Applied Experimental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
² Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education (SY, JX), Hubei University, Wuhan, China.
³ Center on Aging Psychology, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health (SY, XZ, RL, JL), Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology (XZ, RL, JL), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁴ Center on Aging Psychology, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health (SY, XZ, RL, JL), Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology (XZ, RL, JL), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: lijuan@psych.ac.cn.

PMID: 37164780
DOI: 10.1016/j.jagp.2023.04.003

Abstract

Objective: Older adults with subjective memory complaints (SMC) have a higher risk of dementia and commonly demonstrate symptoms of anxiety. This study examined the neural correlates of group counseling (GC)-boosted memory training (MT) gains.

Design: This study was an active, controlled, randomized trial.

Setting: Neighborhoods near the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Participants: Community-dwelling older adults, aged 60 or above with a minimum of 6 years of education, were recruited through advertisements and flyers posted at community service stations.

Measurements: The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) analyses were used to examine the neural correlates associated with MT gains enhanced by improved mood in older adults with SMC. Participants were randomly assigned to the combined intervention (CI) or GC group. The CI group received 3 weeks of GC followed by 4 weeks of MT, and the GC group received GC and health lectures. Cognitive function and emotions were assessed before GC (T1), after GC (T2), and after MT (T3). Both groups underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning at T2 and T3.

Results: Alleviated anxiety was positively correlated with rs-FC between the amygdala and left hippocampus and negatively correlated with rs-FC between the amygdala and right hippocampus. MT improvement was negatively correlated with rs-FC between the amygdala and right hippocampus in the CI group; the correlation was not significant after controlling for emotional changes.

Conclusions: Amygdala-hippocampal connectivity may be associated with improved mood-enhanced MT gains in individuals with SMC.

Keywords: Subjective memory complaints; amygdala; anxiety; hippocampus; memory training.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Amygdala* / diagnostic imaging
Cognitive Training*
Emotions
Hippocampus / diagnostic imaging
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
Temporal Lobe