Subjective Memory Complaint Only Relates to Verbal Episodic Memory Performance in Mild Cognitive Impairment

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Gifford, Katherine A.^{a; *} | Liu, Dandan^{a; b} | Damon, Stephen M.^a | Chapman IV, William G.^c | Romano III, Raymond R.^a | Samuels, Lauren R.^b | Lu, Zengqi^b | Jefferson, Angela L.^a | for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative¹

Affiliations: [a] Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer's Center, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA | [b] Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA | [c] Department of Psychology and Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Katherine Gifford, PsyD, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 2525 West End Ave, 12th Floor, Suite 1200, Nashville, TN 37203, USA. Tel.: +1 615 322 8676; E-mail: [email protected].

Note: [1] Data used in preparation of this article were obtained from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database (adni.loni.ucla.edu). As such, the investigators within the ADNI contributed to the design and implementation of ADNI and/or provided data but did not participate in analysis or writing of this report. A complete listing of ADNI investigators can be found at: http://adni.loni.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/how_to_apply/ADNI_Acknowledgement_List.pdf

Abstract: Background:A cognitive concern from the patient, informant, or clinician is required for the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI); however, the cognitive and neuroanatomical correlates of complaint are poorly understood. Objective:We assessed how self-complaint relates to cognitive and neuroimaging measures in older adults with MCI. Method:MCI participants were drawn from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative and dichotomized into two groups based on the presence of self-reported memory complaint (no complaint n = 191, 77 ± 7 years; complaint n = 206, 73 ± 8 years). Cognitive outcomes included episodic memory, executive functioning, information processing speed, and language. Imaging outcomes included regional lobar volumes (frontal, parietal, temporal, cingulate) and specific medial temporal lobe structures (hippocampal volume, entorhinal cortex thickness, parahippocampal gyrus thickness). Results:Linear regressions, adjusting for age, gender, race, education, Mini-Mental State Examination score, mood, and apolipoprotein E4 status, found that cognitive complaint related to immediate (β = −1.07, p < 0.001) and delayed episodic memory performances assessed on a serial list learning task (β = −1.06, p = 0.001) but no other cognitive measures or neuroimaging markers. Conclusions:Self-reported memory concern was unrelated to structural neuroimaging markers of atrophy and measures of information processing speed, executive functioning, or language. In contrast, subjective memory complaint related to objective verbal episodic learning performance. Future research is warranted to better understand the relation between cognitive complaint and surrogate markers of abnormal brain aging, including Alzheimer's disease, across the cognitive aging spectrum.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, cognitive complaint, episodic memory, magnetic resonance imaging, mild cognitive impairment, serial list-learning

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-140636

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 309-318, 2015