Schedule of Events | Symposia

Default and Control Network Connectivity Changes Predict Memory Performance in Aging

Poster Session B - Sunday, March 30, 2025, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Shijing Zhou¹ (shijingz@uoregon.edu), Troy Houser¹, Caitlin R. Bowman², Dagmar Zeithamova¹; ¹University of Oregon, ²University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Aging is associated with changes in cognition, such as reduced memory performance. Aging is also associated with changes in network architecture, such as decreased within-network and increased between-network functional connectivity. The study aims to investigate the impact of brain network organization on memory specificity and generalization in young and older adults. All participants completed category learning, recognition and categorization tasks with novel stimuli. Background functional connectivity was recorded during categorization. Behaviorally, we found that older adults were impaired on measures of both memory specificity and generalization. Network-level dedifferentiation – decreased within-network and increased between-network connectivity in aging – was primarily driven by decreased connectivity within-DMN (default mode network) and increased connectivity of the control network with other networks. Both of these predicted memory specificity (but not memory generalization) in older adults but not young adults. Older adults with high memory specificity performance had stronger within-DMN connectivity that was comparable to young adults and broad increases in control network connectivity with other networks relative to young adults. The results suggest that control network may play a compensatory role to help maintain memory specificity when the functional connectivity within DMN become weaker with aging.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Development & aging