ABSTRACT

Risk and protective factors for cognitive function in aging may affect how much individuals benefit from their environment or life experiences by preserving or improving cognitive abilities. We investigated the relations between such factors and outcome from episodic-memory training in 136 healthy young and older adults. Tested risk factors included carrying the ɛ4 variant of the apolipoprotein E allele (APOE), age, body mass index, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Protective factors included higher levels of education, intelligence quotient (IQ), physical activity, fatty acids, and vitamin D. Average increases in memory performance were seen after training, with ample variation between individuals. Being young, female, and having higher IQ were positive predictors of memory improvement. No other relationships were observed. Similar benefit was observed across APOE allelic variation. This indicates that beyond IQ, age, and sex, known risk -and protective factors of cognitive function in aging were not significantly related to memory plasticity.

摘要

衰老过程中认知功能的风险和保护因素可能会影响个体通过保持或提高认知能力从环境或生活经历中受益的程度。我们在 136 名健康的年轻人和老年人中调查了这些因素与情景记忆训练结果之间的关系。经测试的风险因素包括携带载脂蛋白 E 等位基因 (APOE) 的 ɛ4 变体、年龄、体重指数、血压和胆固醇。保护因素包​​括较高的教育水平、智商 (IQ)、身体活动、脂肪酸和维生素 D。训练后记忆能力平均提高，但个体之间存在很大差异。年轻、女性和更高的智商是记忆力改善的积极预测因素。没有观察到其他关系。在 APOE 等位基因变异中观察到类似的益处。这表明除了智商、年龄和性别之外，衰老过程中认知功能的已知风险和保护因素与记忆可塑性没有显着相关。