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Control beliefs are associated with preserved memory function in the face of low hippocampal volume among diverse older adults

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Abstract

Growing evidence supports a link between locus of control and memory in older adults. Control beliefs may directly predict larger hippocampal volume (i.e., brain maintenance). Alternatively, control beliefs may be associated with smaller hippocampal volume at any given level of memory (i.e., cognitive reserve). Multivariable regression analyses examined associations between verbal episodic memory, locus of control and hippocampal volume among 236 non-demented older adults in the community-based Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project. Control beliefs were negatively associated with hippocampal volume when controlling for memory performance, indicating that individuals with stronger control beliefs were able to maintain memory function in the face of lower hippocampal volume. Subsequent exploratory models stratified by race/ethnicity indicated that this association was more prominent among racial/ethnic minorities (particularly Caribbean Hispanic older adults) than among non-Hispanic White older adults. Control beliefs were not associated with hippocampal volume before memory was taken into account. Results are consistent with the view that control beliefs facilitate the maintenance of memory function despite hippocampal volume loss. Results are not consistent with the view that locus of control contributes to brain maintenance. Culturally-appropriate interventions are needed to test whether strengthening control beliefs provides cognitive resistance to neuropathology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, USA

    Laura B. Zahodne

  2. Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Nicole Schupf

  3. Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Nicole Schupf & Adam M. Brickman

  4. Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Nicole Schupf & Adam M. Brickman

  5. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Nicole Schupf

  6. Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Nicole Schupf & Adam M. Brickman

Authors
  1. Laura B. Zahodne
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Correspondence to Laura B. Zahodne.

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Funding

Data collection and sharing for this project was supported by the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP, PO1AG07232, R01AG037212, RF1AG054023, R00AG047963, R01AG054520, R01AG034189, R56AG034189, R01AG016206) funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). This manuscript has been reviewed by WHICAP investigators for scientific content and consistency of data interpretation with previous WHICAP Study publications. We acknowledge the WHICAP study participants and the WHICAP research and support staff for their contributions to this study. This publication was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through Grant Number UL1TR001873. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

Conflict of interest

Drs. Zahodne, Schupf, and Brickman declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, and the applicable revisions at the time of the investigation.

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Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study.

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Zahodne, L.B., Schupf, N. & Brickman, A.M. Control beliefs are associated with preserved memory function in the face of low hippocampal volume among diverse older adults. Brain Imaging and Behavior 12, 1112–1120 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-017-9776-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-017-9776-x

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