Impaired prefrontal sleep spindle regulation of hippocampal-dependent learning in older adults

A hallmark feature of cognitive aging is a decline in the ability to form new memories. Parallel to these cognitive impairments are marked disruptions in sleep physiology. Despite recent evidence in young adults establishing a role for sleep spindles in restoring hippocampal-dependent memory formati...

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Published in:Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. 1991) N.Y. 1991), 2014-12, Vol.24 (12), p.3301-3309
Main Authors: Mander, Bryce A, Rao, Vikram, Lu, Brandon, Saletin, Jared M, Ancoli-Israel, Sonia, Jagust, William J, Walker, Matthew P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Aged
Aging
Brain Mapping
Circadian Rhythm - physiology
Evoked Potentials - physiology
Face
Female
Hippocampus - physiology
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Learning - physiology
Male
Memory Disorders - physiopathology
Neuropsychological Tests
Oxygen - blood
Prefrontal Cortex - blood supply
Prefrontal Cortex - physiopathology
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Sleep - physiology
Young Adult
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Summary:A hallmark feature of cognitive aging is a decline in the ability to form new memories. Parallel to these cognitive impairments are marked disruptions in sleep physiology. Despite recent evidence in young adults establishing a role for sleep spindles in restoring hippocampal-dependent memory formation, the possibility that disrupted sleep physiology contributes to age-related decline in hippocampal-dependent learning remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that reduced prefrontal sleep spindles by over 40% in older adults statistically mediates the effects of old age on next day episodic learning, such that the degree of impaired episodic learning is explained by the extent of impoverished prefrontal sleep spindles. In addition, prefrontal spindles significantly predicted the magnitude of impaired next day hippocampal activation, thereby determining the influence of spindles on post-sleep learning capacity. These data support the hypothesis that disrupted sleep physiology contributes to age-related cognitive decline in later life, the consequence of which has significant treatment intervention potential.
ISSN:1047-3211
1460-2199
DOI:10.1093/cercor/bht188