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. 2025 Jul:151:76-88.
doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2025.03.012. Epub 2025 Apr 12.

Mnemonic brain state engagement is diminished in healthy aging

Isabelle L Moore  1 , Devyn E Smith  2 , Nicole M Long  3
Affiliations

Mnemonic brain state engagement is diminished in healthy aging

Isabelle L Moore et al. Neurobiol Aging. 2025 Jul.

Abstract

Healthy older adults typically show impaired episodic memory - memory for when and where an event occurred. This selective episodic memory deficit may arise from differential engagement in the retrieval state, a brain state in which attention is focused internally in an attempt to access prior knowledge, and the encoding state, a brain state which supports the formation of new memories and that trades off with the retrieval state. We hypothesize that older adults are biased toward a retrieval state. We recorded scalp electroencephalography while young, middle-aged and older adults performed a memory task in which they were explicitly directed to either encode or retrieve on a given trial. We used multivariate pattern analysis of spectral activity to decode retrieval vs. encoding state engagement. We find that whereas all age groups can follow task demands to selectively engage in encoding or retrieval, mnemonic brain state engagement is diminished for older adults relative to young and middle-aged adults. These findings suggest that differential mnemonic state engagement may underlie age-related memory changes.

Keywords: Aging; Electroencephalography; Encoding; Episodic memory; Multivariate pattern analysis; Retrieval.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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