Journal
NEUROBIOLOGY OF AGING
Volume 48, Issue -, Pages 143-152Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.08.007
Keywords
Spatial navigation; Cognitive map; Wakeful rest; Memory consolidation; Long-term memory; Spatial memory
Categories
Funding
- Alzheimer's Society, United Kingdom [139]
- Royal Society of Edinburgh [29400 R41255]
- Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland [29400 R41255]
- ERC Starting Grant - European Research Council [335090]
- European Research Council (ERC) [335090] Funding Source: European Research Council (ERC)
- Alzheimer's Society [139] Funding Source: researchfish
- Medical Research Council [MR/K026992/1] Funding Source: researchfish
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Flexible spatial navigation depends on cognitive mapping, a function that declines with increasing age. In young adults, a brief period of postnavigation rest promotes the consolidation and integration of spatial memories into accurate cognitive maps. We examined (1) whether rest promotes spatial memory consolidation and integration in older adults; and (2) whether the magnitude of the rest benefit changes with increasing age. Young and older adults learned a route through a virtual environment, followed by a 10-minute delay comprising either wakeful rest or a perceptual task, and a subsequent cognitive mapping task, requiring the pointing to landmarks from different locations. Pointing accuracy was lower in the older than younger adults. However, there was a comparable rest-related enhancement in pointing accuracy in the 2 age groups. Together our findings suggest that (1) the age-related decline in cognitive mapping cannot be explained by increased consolidation interference in older adults; and (2) as we grow older, rest continues to support the consolidation and integration of spatial memories. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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