Rostral locus coeruleus integrity is associated with better memory performance in older adults.

ABSTRACT: For decades, research into memory decline in human cognitive ageing has focused on neocortical regions, the hippocampus and dopaminergic neuromodulation. Recent findings indicate that the locus coeruleus (LC) and noradrenergic neuromodulation may also play an important role in shaping memory development in later life. However, technical challenges in quantification of LC integrity have hindered the study of LC-cognition associations in humans. Using high-resolution, neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging, we found that individual differences in learning and memory were positively associated with LC integrity across a variety of memory tasks in both younger (n = 66) and older adults (n = 228). Moreover, we observed functionally relevant age differences confined to rostral LC. Old

SUBMITTER: Dahl MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7203800 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature