Eyeblink classical conditioning to auditory and olfactory stimuli: performance among older adults with and without the apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 allele

• Published in: Neuropsychology Vol. 19; no. 4; p. 437
• Main Authors: Moore, Anna Bacon, Bondi, Mark W, Salmon, David P, Murphy, Claire
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.07.2005
• Subjects: Acoustic Stimulation - methods; Aged; Alzheimer Disease - genetics; Alzheimer Disease - physiopathology; Analysis of Variance; Apolipoprotein E4; Apolipoproteins E - genetics; Blinking - genetics; Blinking - physiology; Conditioning, Classical - physiology; Female; Humans; Male; Odorants; Olfactory Pathways - physiopathology; Reaction Time - physiology; Sensory Thresholds - physiology
• ISSN: 0894-4105
• DOI: 10.1037/0894-4105.19.4.437

Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) demonstrate slowed acquisition of the conditioned response (CR) in eyeblink classical conditioning paradigms (EBCC), although it is unknown how early in the course of the disease CR acquisition is affected. This study investigated whether changes in the rate of CR acquisition were apparent in nondemented older adults at greater genetic risk for developing AD (i.e., carriers of the apolipoprotein E [APOE] epsilon 4 allele). Both epsilon 4+ and epsilon 4- participants demonstrated CR acquisition to auditory and olfactory CSs; however, rate of acquisition to the olfactory CS was significantly slower in epsilon 4+ persons. Both groups acquired the CR to an auditory CS at the same rate. Results support olfactory compromise in the earliest stages of the AD disease process. ((c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved).