Dual declines in gait speed and cognitive performance are associated with increased risk of developing dementia. Characterizing the patterns of such impairments therefore is paramount to distinguishing healthy from pathological aging. Nonhuman primates such as vervet/African green monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus) are important models of human neurocognitive aging, yet the trajectory of dual decline has not been characterized. We therefore 1) assessed whether cognitive and physical performance (i.e., gait speed) are lower in older aged animals; 2) explored the relationship between performance in a novel task of executive function (Wake Forest Maze Task: WFMT) and a well-established assessment of working memory (Delayed Response Task: DR Task); and 3) examined the association between baseline gait speed with executive function and working memory at one-year follow-up. We found 1) physical and cognitive declines with age; 2) strong agreement between performance in the novel WFMT and DR task; and 3) that slow gait predicted poor cognitive performance in both domains. Our results suggest that older-aged vervets exhibit a coordinated suite of traits consistent with human aging and that slow gait may be a risk factor for cognitive decline. This integrative approach provides evidence that gait speed and cognitive function differ across the lifespan in female vervet monkeys, which advances them as a model that could be used to evaluate the trajectory of dual decline over time.

中文翻译：

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随年龄增长的，与黑猩猩认知和身体功能相关的变化（Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus）

步态速度和认知能力的双重下降与患痴呆症的风险增加有关。因此，表征此类损伤的模式对于区分健康人与病理性衰老至关重要。非人类灵长类动物，例如黑长尾/非洲绿猴（Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus）是人类神经认知衰老的重要模型，但尚无双重下降的轨迹。因此，我们1）评估了老年动物的认知和身体机能（即步态速度）是否较低；2）探索了执行功能的一项新任务中的绩效（唤醒森林迷宫任务：WFMT）与完善的工作记忆评估（延迟响应任务：DR任务）之间的关系；3）在一年的随访中检查了基线步态速度与执行功能和工作记忆之间的关系。我们发现1）随着年龄的增长，身体和认知能力下降；2）在新颖的WFMT和DR任务中的性能之间达成强烈共识；和3）慢步态预示着这两个领域的认知能力都很差。我们的研究结果表明，老年的黑醋栗表现出与人类衰老一致的协调性状，步态缓慢可能是认知能力下降的危险因素。这种综合的方法提供了证据，表明在雌性黑长尾猴的整个寿命中，步态速度和认知功能有所不同，这使它们成为可用于评估随时间推移双下降轨迹的模型。