Fear of memory loss predicts increased memory failures and lower quality of life in older adults: preliminary findings from a fear-avoidance of memory loss (FAM) scale.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have measured the impact of dementia-related fear on daily functioning, despite its clinical relevance. Our aim was to determine the relationship between fear-avoidance of memory loss, perceived memory failures and self-reported quality of life in a community based sample of older adults using a novel fear of memory loss (FAM) scale. METHODS: Sixty-seven older adults (59-81 years) completed a 23-item self-report scale designed to capture multi-faceted components of fear of memory loss, known as the FAM scale. Perceived memory failures were measured using the Memory Failures Scale (MFS) and quality of life was assessed using the Older Person's Quality of Life scale (OPQOL-35). Participants also completed the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-IV) as a measure of objective memory performance and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS) and the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) as measures of general anxiety. RESULTS: The FAM scale demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .82) and concurrent validity with the GAI (r = .47). Three latent factors were observed: (1) fear-avoidance, (2) problematic beliefs and (3) affective resilience. After adjusting for objective memory performance and general anxiety, higher fear-avoidance significantly predicted increased perceived memory failures (p = .014) and reduced quality of life (p = .033). CONCLUSIONS: Fear of memory loss predicts increased perceived memory failures and lower self-reported quality of life in a community sample of older adults. Based on these findings, we propose a preliminary fear-avoidance model that explains the development and maintenance of dementia-related functional disability in terms of psychological processes.

A comparison of resting state EEG and structural MRI for classifying Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia, accounting for 70% of cases worldwide. By 2050, dementia prevalence will have tripled, with most new cases occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a stage between healthy aging and dementia, marked by cognitive deficits that do not impair daily living. People with MCI are at increased risk of dementia, with an average progression rate of 39% within 5 years. There is urgent need for low-cost, accessible and objective methods to facilitate early dementia detection. Electroencephalography (EEG) has potential to address this need due to its low cost and portability. Here, we collected resting state EEG, structural MRI (sMRI) and rich neuropsychological data from older adults (55+ years) with AD, amnestic MCI (aMCI) and healthy controls (~60 per group). We evaluated a range of candidate EEG markers (i.e., frequency band power and functional connectivity) for AD and aMCI classification and compared their performance with sMRI. We also tested a combined EEG and cognitive classification model (using Mini-Mental State Examination; MMSE). sMRI outperformed resting state EEG at classifying AD (AUCs â€‹= â€‹1.00 vs 0.76, respectively). However, both EEG and sMRI were only moderately good at distinguishing aMCI from healthy aging (AUCs â€‹= â€‹0.67-0.73), and neither method achieved sensitivity above 70%. The addition of EEG to MMSE scores had no added benefit relative to MMSE scores alone. This is the first direct comparison of EEG and sMRI for classification of AD and aMCI.

Event-related brain potentials reveal correlates of the transformation of stimulus functions through derived relations in healthy humans.

This research aimed to explore the neural correlates of relational learning by recording high-density EEG during a behavioural task involving derivation levels of varying complexity. A total of 15 participants (5 male; age range 18-23 years; mean age=20.0 years) completed contextual cue training, relational learning, function training and a derivation task while 128-channel event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from the scalp (Background). Differences in response latencies were observed between the two derived (symmetry and equivalence) and directly trained relations, with longest latencies found for equivalence and shortest for the directly trained relations. This pattern failed to reach statistical significance. Importantly, ERPs revealed an early P3a positivity (from 230 to 350ms) over right posterior scalp sites. Significantly larger mean amplitudes were found at three channels (P6, E115 and E121) for the equivalence relations compared to the two other types (Results). We believe this may constitute a first demonstration of differences in brain electrophysiology in the transformation of stimulus functions through derived relations of hierarchical levels of complexity (Conclusions).