Forecasting memory function in aging: Pattern-completion ability and hippocampal activity relate to visuo-spatial functioning over 25 years

Abstract Heterogeneity in episodic-memory functioning in aging was assessed with a pattern-completion fMRI task that required reactivation of well-consolidated face-name memory traces from fragmented (partial) or morphed (noisy) face cues. About half of the examined individuals (N = 101) showed impaired (chance) performance on fragmented faces despite intact performance on complete and morphed faces, and they did not show a pattern-completion response in hippocampus or the examined subfields (CA1, CA23, DGCA4). This apparent pattern-completion deficit could not be explained by differential hippocampal atrophy. Instead, the impaired group displayed lower cortical volumes, accelerated reduction in MMSE-scores, and lower general cognitive function as defined by longitudinal measures of visuo-spatial functioning and speed-of-processing. In the full sample, inter-individual differences in visuo-spatial functioning predicted performance on fragmented faces and hippocampal CA23 subfield activity over 25 years. These findings suggest that visuo-spatial functioning in middle-age can forecast pattern-completion deficits in aging.