Independent contributions of fMRI familiarity and novelty effects to recognition memory and their stability across the adult lifespan.

摘要: The impact of age on the neural correlates familiarity-driven recognition memory has received relatively little attention. Here, relationships between age, familiarity, and performance were investigated using an associative test in young, middle-aged older participants. Test items comprised studied, rearranged (items studied different trials) new word pairs. fMRI ‘familiarity effects’ operationalized as greater activity for pairs incorrectly identified ‘rearranged’ than correctly rejected reverse contrast was employed to identify ‘novelty’ effects. Estimates familiarity strength slightly but significantly lower relative younger group. With exception one region dorsal medial prefrontal cortex, effects (which lateral parietal left bilateral caudate among other regions) did not differ with age. Age-invariant ‘novelty anterior hippocampus perirhinal cortex. When entered into same regression model, novelty independently predicted across participants, suggesting that two classes effect reflect functionally distinct mnemonic processes. It is concluded familiarity-based judgments, their relationship strength, are largely stable much healthy adult lifespan.