Cited by 38Memory Processes and InfluencesDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchDecision-Making and Behavioral Economics

Neural and behavioral correlates of episodic memory are associated with temporal discounting in older adults

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Lempert, Karolina M., Mechanic-Hamilton, Dawn J., Xie, Long, Wisse, Laura E.M., de Flores, Robin, Wang, Jieqiong, Das, Sandhitsu R., Yushkevich, Paul A. +2 more·2020·Neuropsychologia

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Abstract

When facing decisions involving trade-offs between smaller, sooner and larger, delayed rewards, people tend to discount the value of future rewards. There are substantial individual differences in this tendency toward temporal discounting, however. One neurocognitive system that may underlie these individual differences is episodic memory, given the overlap in the neural circuitry involved in imagining the future and remembering the past. Here we tested this hypothesis in older adults, including both those that were cognitively normal and those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We found that performance on neuropsychological measures of episodic memory retrieval was associated with temporal discounting, such that people with better memory discounted delayed rewards less. This relationship was specific to episodic memory and temporal discounting, since executive function (another cognitive ability) was unrelated to temporal discounting, and episodic memory was unrelated to risk tolerance (another decision-making preference). We also examined cortical thickness and volume in medial temporal lobe regions critical for episodic memory. Entorhinal cortical thickness was associated with reduced temporal discounting, with episodic memory performance partially mediating this association. The inclusion of MCI participants was critical to revealing these associations between episodic memory and entorhinal cortical thickness and temporal discounting. These effects were larger in the MCI group, reduced after controlling for MCI status, and statistically significant only when including MCI participants in analyses. Overall, these findings suggest that individual differences in temporal discounting are driven by episodic memory function, and that a decline in medial temporal lobe structural integrity may impact temporal discounting.

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  • The choice set used to measure discount rates was widely adopted and designed to capture a broad range of discount rates.

    “We used a widely adopted choice set designed to capture a broad range of discount rates31–37.”

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  1. Boyle PA, Yu L, Segawa E, Wilson RS, Buchman AS, Laibson DI, & Bennett DA (2012b). Association of cognition with temporal discounting in community based older persons. BMC Geriatrics, 12(1), 48 10.1186/1471-2318-12-48 22938391 PMC3458966 · DOI

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Authors
Lempert, K. M., Mechanic-Hamilton, D. J., Xie, L., Wisse, L. E. M., de Flores, R., Wang, J., Das, S. R., Yushkevich, P. A., Wolk, D. A., & Kable, J. W.
Affiliations
University of Pennsylvania (US)
Corresponding author
Kable, Joseph W.
Venue
Neuropsychologia
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-09
Volume
146
Pages
107549
ISSN
0028-3932 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3038599495
Cited by
38
References
85
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 1
FWCI
2.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Neuropsychologia (publishedVersion)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute on Aging
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
Keywords
delay discounting, episodic memory, older adults, amnestic mild cognitive impairment, entorhinal cortex, cortical thickness, medial temporal lobe, individual differences, delayed rewards, executive function, risk tolerance, decision-making
MeSH terms
Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Mental Recall, Reward, Cognitive Dysfunction, Memory, Episodic, Delay Discounting

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