Age Effects on the Neural Basis of Self-Generation in Verbal Paired Associate Learning (P6.240)

Objective: To investigate the age-related changes in the neural mechanisms involved in the encoding of paired-associates using a self-generation method that has been shown to improve memory performance across the lifespan. Background: Verbal information is better retained when it is self-generated rather than when received passively. The application of self-generation procedures has been found to improve memory in healthy elderly and in individuals with impaired cognition including e.g., dementia, aphasia or epilepsy. Studies support the notion that active participation during verbal encoding engages memory mechanisms that supplement those used during passive observation. Design/Methods: Subjects were 113 healthy right-handed adults (Edinburgh Handedness Inventory > 50; 67 females) ages 18-76, native speakers of English with no history of neurological or psychiatric disorders. Subjects underwent fMRI at 3T while performing didactic learning (“read”) or self-generation learning (“generate”) of 30 word pairs per condition. After fMRI, recognition memory for the second word in each pair was evaluated outside of the scanner. Results: On the post-fMRI testing more “generate” words were correctly recognized than “read” words (p<0.001); older adults recognized the words less accurately (p=0.05). Independent component analysis (ICA) of fMRI data identified task-related brain networks. Several components were positively correlated with the task, reflecting multiple cognitive processes involved in self-generated encoding; other components correlated negatively with the task, including components of the default-mode network. Activation in anterior insula, anterior cingulate and precentral/dorsomedial frontal cortex was associated with more accurate post-test performance (p<0.05, age was included as a covariate). Conclusions: Overall, memory performance decreased with age, but the benefit from self-generation remained consistently significant across age. ICA of neuroimaging data revealed an extensive set of components engaged in self-generation learning compared with didactic learning, and identified areas that were associated with age-related performance changes. Disclosure: Dr. Vannest has nothing to disclose. Dr. Maloney has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kay has nothing to disclose. Dr. Siegel has nothing to disclose. Dr. Allendorfer has received research support from the Shor Foundation for Epilepsy Research. Dr. Banks has nothing to disclose. Dr. Szaflarski has received personal compensation for activities with UCB Pharma. Dr. Szaflarski has received research support from the National Institutes of Health, the American Academy of Neurology, the Shor Foundation for Epilepsy Research, Neuren, and Eisai Inc.