Neural correlates of autobiographical memory in amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

• Published in: Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging Vol. 201; no. 2; pp. 159 - 167
• Main Authors: Matura, Silke, Muth, Kathrin, Magerkurth, Jörg, Walter, Henrik, Klein, Johannes, Haenschel, Corinna, Pantel, Johannes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 28.02.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aged; Amnesia - pathology; Amnesia - physiopathology; Atrophy; Autobiographical memory; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - pathology; Brain - physiopathology; Brain Mapping; Cognitive ability; Cognitive Dysfunction - pathology; Cognitive Dysfunction - physiopathology; Disorders of higher nervous function. Focal brain diseases. Central vestibular syndrome and deafness. Brain stem syndromes; Echo-Planar Imaging; Episodic memory; Female; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Functional MRI; Geriatrics; Humans; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical sciences; Memory; Memory, Episodic; Memory, Short-Term - physiology; Mental Status Schedule; Middle Aged; Morphometry; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neural networks; Neurodegeneration; Neuroimaging; Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; Oxygen - blood; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Radiology; Retention (Psychology) - physiology; Substantia grisea; Temporal lobe; Temporal Lobe - pathology; Temporal Lobe - physiopathology; Verbal Learning - physiology; Voxel-based morphometry; Functional MRI; Episodic memory; Voxel-based morphometry; Autobiographical memory; Human; Memory disorder; Nervous system diseases; Cognitive disorder; Cognition; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Cerebral disorder; Central nervous system disease; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Medical imagery; mild cognitive impairment; Amnesia; Neurological disorder; Morphometry
• ISSN: 0925-4927; 1872-7506
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.06.007

Abstract Episodic memory dysfunction, commonly assessed with word list recall, is the main characteristic of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI). While brain pathology underlying this kind of memory impairment is well established in aMCI, little is known about the effect of neurodegeneration on autobiographical memory. The present study investigated neuronal correlates of autobiographical memory in aMCI patients ( n = 12) and healthy elderly controls ( n = 13) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Additionally, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was employed to reveal brain pathology in aMCI patients. Neuropsychological assessment showed significant impairment in episodic memory tasks (immediate and delayed word list recall) in aMCI patients. Moreover, VBM revealed significantly reduced gray matter concentration, which was most pronounced in the temporal lobes of aMCI patients. Despite episodic memory impairment and atrophy in areas that are associated with encoding and recall of episodic memories, aMCI patients showed no alterations in brain activation associated with autobiographical memory retrieval. These findings could suggest that autobiographical memory is subserved by a different neuronal network than episodic memory and that the two memory systems are differently affected by aMCI.