• Anders M Fjell, Markus H Sneve, Håkon Grydeland, Andreas B Storsve, Ann-Marie Glasø de Lange, Inge K Amlien, Ole J Røgeberg, and Kristine B Walhovd.
• Research Group for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Physical medicine and rehabilitation, Unit of Neuropsychology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: andersmf@psykologi.uio.no.
• Neurobiol. Aging. 2015 Dec 1; 36 (12): 3255-3268.

AbstractA major task of contemporary cognitive neuroscience of aging is to explain why episodic memory declines. Change in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) could be a mechanism accounting for reduced function. We addressed this through 3 studies. In study 1, 119 healthy participants (20-83 years) were followed for 3.5 years with verbal recall testing and magnetic resonance imaging. Independent of atrophy, recall change was related to change in rsFC in anatomically widespread areas. Striking age-effects were observed in that a positive relationship between rsFC and memory characterized older participants while a negative relationship was seen among the younger and middle-aged. This suggests that cognitive consequences of rsFC change are not stable across age. In study 2 and 3, the age-dependent differences in rsFC-memory relationship were replicated by use of a simulation model (study 2) and by a cross-sectional experimental recognition memory task (study 3). In conclusion, memory changes were related to altered rsFC in an age-dependent manner, and future research needs to detail the mechanisms behind age-varying relationships.Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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