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Varadaraj V, Munoz B, Deal JA, An Y, Albert MS, Resnick SM, Ferrucci L, Swenor BK. Association of Vision Impairment With Cognitive Decline Across Multiple Domains in Older Adults. JAMA Netw Open 2021; 4:e2117416. [PMID: 34269806 PMCID: PMC8285732 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.17416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Associations between visual and global cognitive impairments have been previously documented, but there is limited research examining these associations between multiple measures of vision across cognitive domains. OBJECTIVE To examine the association between vision and cognitive across multiple cognitive domains using multiple measures of vision. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This longitudinal cohort study used data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging for 2003 to 2019. Participants in the current study were aged 60 to 94 years with vision and cognitive measures. Data analysis was performed from May 2020 to May 2021. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Cognitive function was measured across multiple domains, including language, memory, attention, executive function, and visuospatial ability. Cognitive domain scores were calculated as the mean of standardized cognitive test scores within each domain. Visual function was assessed using measures of visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and stereo acuity at baseline. RESULTS Analyses included 1202 participants (610 women [50.8%]; 853 White participants [71.0%]) with a mean (SD) age of 71.1 (8.6) years who were followed up for a mean (SD) of 6.9 (4.7) years. Worse visual acuity (per 0.1 logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution) at baseline was associated with greater declines in language (β, -0.0035; 95% CI, -0.007 to -0.001) and memory (β, -0.0052; 95% CI, -0.010 to -0.001) domain scores. Worse contrast sensitivity (per 0.1 log units) at baseline was associated with greater declines in language (β, -0.010; 95% CI, -0.014 to -0.006), memory (β, -0.009; 95% CI, -0.015 to -0.003), attention (β, -0.010; 95% CI, -0.017 to -0.003), and visuospatial ability (β, -0.010; 95% CI, -0.017 to -0.002) domain scores. Over the follow-up period, declines on tests of language (β, -0.019; 95% CI, -0.034 to -0.005) and memory (β, -0.032; 95% CI, -0.051 to -0.012) were significantly greater for participants with impaired stereo acuity compared with those without such impairment. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE These findings suggest that the association between vision and cognition differs between visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and stereo acuity and that patterns of cognitive decline may differ by type of vision impairment, with impaired contrast sensitivity being associated with declines across more cognitive domains than other measures of visual functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Varshini Varadaraj
- Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Center for Disability Health Research, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Beatriz Munoz
- Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jennifer A. Deal
- Center for Disability Health Research, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Yang An
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Marilyn S. Albert
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Susan M. Resnick
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Luigi Ferrucci
- Translational Gerontology Branch, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Bonnielin K. Swenor
- Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Center for Disability Health Research, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
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Gupta P, Vu TA, Lamoureux EL. Beyond Visual Acuity-A Comprehensive Assessment of Vision and Cognition in Older Adults With Visual Impairment. JAMA Netw Open 2021; 4:e2119033. [PMID: 34269812 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.19033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Preeti Gupta
- Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore
| | - Tai Anh Vu
- Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore
| | - Ecosse L Lamoureux
- Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore
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Salience-based object prioritization during active viewing of naturalistic scenes in young and older adults. Sci Rep 2020; 10:22057. [PMID: 33328485 PMCID: PMC7745017 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78203-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Whether fixation selection in real-world scenes is guided by image salience or by objects has been a matter of scientific debate. To contrast the two views, we compared effects of location-based and object-based visual salience in young and older (65 + years) adults. Generalized linear mixed models were used to assess the unique contribution of salience to fixation selection in scenes. When analysing fixation guidance without recurrence to objects, visual salience predicted whether image patches were fixated or not. This effect was reduced for the elderly, replicating an earlier finding. When using objects as the unit of analysis, we found that highly salient objects were more frequently selected for fixation than objects with low visual salience. Interestingly, this effect was larger for older adults. We also analysed where viewers fixate within objects, once they are selected. A preferred viewing location close to the centre of the object was found for both age groups. The results support the view that objects are important units of saccadic selection. Reconciling the salience view with the object view, we suggest that visual salience contributes to prioritization among objects. Moreover, the data point towards an increasing relevance of object-bound information with increasing age.
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Hämäläinen A, Phillips N, Wittich W, Pichora-Fuller MK, Mick P. Sensory-cognitive associations are only weakly mediated or moderated by social factors in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Sci Rep 2019; 9:19660. [PMID: 31873079 PMCID: PMC6928150 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-55696-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Sensory and cognitive function both tend to decline with increasing age. Sensory impairments are risk factors for age-related cognitive decline and dementia. One hypothesis about sensory-cognitive associations is that sensory loss results in social isolation which, in turn, is a risk factor for cognitive decline. We tested whether social factors are associated with cognitive and sensory function, and whether sensory-cognitive associations are mediated or moderated by social factors. We used cross-sectional data from 30,029 participants in the Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging, aged 45-85 years, who had no reported cognitive impairment or diagnosis of dementia. We found strong independent associations of self-reported social variables with hearing (pure-tone audiometry), vision (pinhole-corrected visual acuity), and executive function and weaker associations with memory. The moderating and mediating effects of social variables on sensory-cognitive associations were weak and mostly non-significant, but social factors could be slightly more important for females and older people. Partial retirement (relative to full retirement or not being retired) may have protective effects on cognition in the presence of hearing loss. These findings confirm the association between social factors and sensory and cognitive measures. However, support is weak for the hypothesis that social factors shape sensory-cognitive associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anni Hämäläinen
- School of Optometry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Natalie Phillips
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Walter Wittich
- School of Optometry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Paul Mick
- Department of Surgery, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
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Ji L, Peng H, Mao X. The Role of Sensory Function in Processing Speed and Working Memory Aging. Exp Aging Res 2019; 45:234-251. [PMID: 31023163 DOI: 10.1080/0361073x.2019.1609168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sensory function, processing speed, and working memory are considered to be mechanisms that play important explanatory roles in age-related decline of cognitive abilities. As individuals age, sensory function declines along with other cognitive abilities, including processing speed and working memory. Moreover, the relationship between sensory function, processing speed, and working memory, which represent the most basic mechanism, is one of the important issues in the field of cognitive aging. METHODS To explore the role of sensory function, especially visual function, in processing speed and working memory aging, the present study adopted a 2 (age: young and old) × 4 (visual perceptual stress: high, medium, low, and non-stress) mixed design and explored age differences in tasks testing processing speed and working memory. To generate different levels of visual perceptual stress, test materials were masked with Gaussian noise according to each individual's visual function. RESULTS The results indicated that age differences in processing speed were not influenced by different levels of visual perceptual stress, while age differences in working memory performance decreased gradually with the increase of visual perceptual stress. CONCLUSION Visual function affected age differences in working memory rather than in processing speed. The common-cause hypothesis and information-degradation hypothesis were applied to interpret the relationships between visual function and processing speed and between visual function and working memory, respectively. Moreover, sensory function may not directly affect working memory function, which was also consistent with a resource decrement model of aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingling Ji
- a Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology , Beijing Normal University , Beijing , China.,b Faculty of Education , Beijing City University , Beijing , China
| | - Huamao Peng
- a Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology , Beijing Normal University , Beijing , China
| | - Xiaofei Mao
- c Department of Psychology , The Second Military Medical University , Shanghai , China
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Liu ZX, Shen K, Olsen RK, Ryan JD. Age-related changes in the relationship between visual exploration and hippocampal activity. Neuropsychologia 2018; 119:81-91. [PMID: 30075215 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.07.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2017] [Revised: 07/23/2018] [Accepted: 07/30/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Deciphering the mechanisms underlying age-related memory declines remains an important goal in cognitive neuroscience. Recently, we observed that visual sampling behavior predicted activity within the hippocampus, a region critical for memory. In younger adults, increases in the number of gaze fixations were associated with increases in hippocampal activity (Liu et al., 2017). This finding suggests a close coupling between the oculomotor and memory system. However, the extent to which this coupling is altered with aging has not been investigated. In this study, we gave older adults the same face processing task used in Liu et al. (2017) and compared their visual exploration behavior and neural activation in the hippocampus and the fusiform face area (FFA) to those of younger adults. Compared to younger adults, older adults showed an increase in visual exploration as indexed by the number of gaze fixations. However, the relationship between visual exploration and neural responses in the hippocampus and FFA was weaker than that of younger adults. Older adults also showed weaker responses to novel faces and a smaller repetition suppression effect in the hippocampus and FFA compared to younger adults. All together, this study provides novel evidence that the capacity to bind visually sampled information, in real-time, into coherent representations along the ventral visual stream and the medial temporal lobe declines with aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhong-Xu Liu
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6A 2E1.
| | - Kelly Shen
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6A 2E1
| | - Rosanna K Olsen
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6A 2E1; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G3
| | - Jennifer D Ryan
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6A 2E1; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G3; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada
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Hamilton CJ, Brown LA, Rossi-Arnaud C. Older Adults Benefit from Symmetry, but Not Semantic Availability, in Visual Working Memory. Front Psychol 2018; 8:2373. [PMID: 29416521 PMCID: PMC5787569 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2017] [Accepted: 12/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual working memory exhibits age effects that are amongst the largest observed in the cognitive aging literature. In this research we investigated whether or not older adults can benefit from visual symmetry and semantic availability, as young adults typically do. Visual matrix pattern tasks varied in terms of the perceptual factor of symmetry (Experiment 1), as well as the availability of visual semantics, or long-term memory (LTM; Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, within a visual memory span protocol, four matrix pattern sets were employed with discrete symmetry characteristics; random, vertical, horizontal, and diagonal symmetry. Encoding time was 3 s with a 2 s maintenance interval. The findings indicated a significant difference in span level across age groups for all of the symmetry variants. More importantly, both younger and older adults could take advantage of symmetry in the matrix array in order to significantly improve task performance. In Experiment 2, two visual matrix task sets were used, with visual arrays of either low or high semantic availability (i.e., they contained stimuli with recognizable shapes that allow for LTM support). Encoding duration was 3 s with a 1 s retention interval. Here, the older adult sample was significantly impaired in span performance with both variants of the task. However, only the younger adult participants could take advantage of visual semantics. These findings show that, in the context of overall impairment in individual task performance, older adults remain capable of employing the perceptual cue of symmetry in order to improve visual working memory task performance. However, they appear less able, within this protocol, to recruit visual semantics in order to scaffold performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin J Hamilton
- Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Louise A Brown
- School of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom
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Linking cognitive and visual perceptual decline in healthy aging: The information degradation hypothesis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 69:166-73. [PMID: 27484869 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.07.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2016] [Revised: 07/25/2016] [Accepted: 07/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Several hypotheses attempt to explain the relation between cognitive and perceptual decline in aging (e.g., common-cause, sensory deprivation, cognitive load on perception, information degradation). Unfortunately, the majority of past studies examining this association have used correlational analyses, not allowing for these hypotheses to be tested sufficiently. This correlational issue is especially relevant for the information degradation hypothesis, which states that degraded perceptual signal inputs, resulting from either age-related neurobiological processes (e.g., retinal degeneration) or experimental manipulations (e.g., reduced visual contrast), lead to errors in perceptual processing, which in turn may affect non-perceptual, higher-order cognitive processes. Even though the majority of studies examining the relation between age-related cognitive and perceptual decline have been correlational, we reviewed several studies demonstrating that visual manipulations affect both younger and older adults' cognitive performance, supporting the information degradation hypothesis and contradicting implications of other hypotheses (e.g., common-cause, sensory deprivation, cognitive load on perception). The reviewed evidence indicates the necessity to further examine the information degradation hypothesis in order to identify mechanisms underlying age-related cognitive decline.
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