Cited by 595Memory and Neural MechanismsMemory Processes and InfluencesCognitive Functions and Memory

Pattern separation deficits associated with increased hippocampal CA3 and dentate gyrus activity in nondemented older adults

Open access
Yassa, Michael A., Lacy, Joyce W., Stark, Shauna M., Albert, Marilyn S., Gallagher, Michela, Stark, Craig E.L.·2011·Hippocampus

Abstract

There is widespread evidence that memory deteriorates with aging, however the exact mechanisms that underlie these changes are not well understood. Given the growing size of the aging population, there is an imperative to study age‐related neurocognitive changes in order to better parse healthy from pathological aging. Using a behavioral paradigm that taxes pattern separation (the ability to differentiate novel yet similar information from previously learned information and thus avoid interference), we investigated age‐related neural changes in the human hippocampus using high‐resolution (1.5 mm isotropic) blood‐oxygenation level‐dependent fMRI. Recent evidence from animal studies suggests that hyperactivity in the CA3 region of the hippocampus may underlie behavioral deficits in pattern separation in aged rats. Here, we report evidence that is consistent with findings from the animal studies. We found a behavioral impairment in pattern separation in a sample of healthy older adults compared with young controls. We also found a related increase in CA3/dentate gyrus activity levels during an fMRI contrast that stresses pattern separation abilities. In a detailed analysis of behavior, we also found that the pattern of impairment was consistent with the predictions of the animal model, where larger changes in the input (greater dissimilarity) were required in order for elderly adults to successfully encode new information as distinct from previously learned information. These findings are also consistent with recent fMRI and behavioral reports in healthy aging, and further suggest that a specific functional deficit in the CA3/dentate network contributes to memory difficulties with aging. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1002/hipo.20808

Cites

72 of 72 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Greater hippocampal activation during encoding tasks is associated with worse task performance in MCI and AD patients.

    “Greater hippocampal activation during encoding tasks is associated with worse task performance [176] in MCI and AD patients [172, 177]”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Small SA Perera GM DeLaPaz R Mayeux R Stern Y 1999 Differential regional dysfunction of the hippocampal formation among elderly with memory decline and Alzheimer's disease Ann Neurol 45 466 472 10211471
  2. Talairach J Tournoux P 1988 A Co-Planar Steres Jotactic Atlas of the Human Brain Stuttgard, Germany Thieme

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Yassa, M. A., Lacy, J. W., Stark, S. M., Albert, M. S., Gallagher, M., & Stark, C. E. L.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Irvine (US)
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
Corresponding author
Stark, Craig E.L.
Venue
Hippocampus
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2011-08-23
Volume
21
Issue
9
Pages
968-979
ISSN
  • 1050-9631 (ISSN-L)
  • 1098-1063
OpenAlex
W2067065650
Cited by
595
References
72
Citations by year
2026: 32 · 2025: 44 · 2024: 49 · 2023: 39 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 38 · 2018: 53 · 2017: 48 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 44 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 22
FWCI
12.38
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Hippocampus (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute on Aging (2 P01 AG09973, P50AG005146, P01AG009973, P50AG05146)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
Keywords
pattern separation, hippocampal CA3, dentate gyrus, healthy aging, age-related memory decline, hippocampal hyperactivity, older adults, neural correlates of memory
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Animals, Brain Mapping, Discrimination, Psychological, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Memory, Models, Biological, Nerve Net, Oxygen, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Reaction Time, Temporal Lobe, Transfer, Psychology, Dentate Gyrus, Rats, CA3 Region, Hippocampal

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review