OLFACTORY MEMORY IN YOUNG, MIDDLE, AND LATE ADULTHOOD

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0223471
• Project Start Date: Oct 1, 2010
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2015
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS
410 MRAK HALL
DAVIS,CA 95616-8671

Performing Department
Interdepartmental

Non Technical Summary
This project will address the nature and degree of differences in odor-related memory across young, middle, and late adulthood. Olfactory impairments, which begin around 50-55 years of age, have received far less attention than age-related impairments in vision and audition. This is unfortunate, because olfactory abilities play a significant role in the health (including dietary behavior), safety, and well-being of all adults. Adults with impaired olfactory functioning are at higher risk for ingestion of spoiled foods, insufficient caloric intake, and hazardous events such as undetected fires or gas leaks; moreover, impaired olfactory functioning is associated with low levels of life satisfaction and depression. Olfaction abnormality has also been linked to, and can be diagnostic of, a variety of neurological disorders that increase in likelihood with aging (e.g., Alzheimers disease). This project will answer several fundamental questions about age-associated odor memory deficits. The findings will have important implications for diagnosis as well as treatment of, and/or compensation for, olfactory impairments in middle and older adulthood. The main objectives of this research are to assess the nature and extent of differences among young, middle-aged, and older adults in olfactory versus verbal: episodic memory (personally experienced events), semantic memory (world knowledge), and procedural memory (nonconscious facilitation of processing of repeated stimuli).

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
802	6010	3070	70%
802	7220	3090	30%

Knowledge Area
802 - Human Development and Family Well-Being;

Subject Of Investigation
7220 - Sensory evaluation/analysis methods (human senses); 6010 - Individuals;

Field Of Science
3070 - Psychology; 3090 - Sensory science (human senses);

Keywords

adult development

aging

olfaction

memory

odor memory

episodic memory

semantic memory

procedural memory

Goals / Objectives
This project will address the nature and degree of differences in odor-related memory across young, middle, and late adulthood. Olfactory impairments, which begin around 50-55 years of age, have received far less attention than age-related impairments in vision and audition. This is unfortunate, because olfactory abilities play a significant role in the health (including dietary behavior), safety, and well-being of all adults. Adults with impaired olfactory functioning are at higher risk for ingestion of spoiled foods, insufficient caloric intake, hazardous events such as undetected fires or gas leaks; moreover, impaired olfactory functioning is associated with low levels of life satisfaction and depression. Olfaction abnormality has also been linked to, and can be diagnostic of, a variety of neurological disorders that increase in likelihood with aging (e.g., Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease). The proposed research will answer several fundamental questions about age-associated odor memory deficits, and the degree to which these memory deficits are linked to age-associated odor olfactory deficits. Given that older adults are the fastest growing segment of the population in California (and in the nation), increasing attention must be directed to research aimed at improving the health and well-being of older adults (with the goal of maximizing years of independent living); olfactory functioning plays a significant role in overall health and well-being. This project will provide the characterization of a broad range of olfactory functioning, particularly odor memory, in normal aging. It will include separate experiments on episodic, semantic, and procedural odor memory, in order to fill major gaps in our knowledge about olfactory memory, by comparing memory systems that do versus do not show age-related impairments, when words or pictures are used as to-be-remembered stimuli. This will be the first comparison of age-related performance for these three types of memory (episodic, semantic, and procedural), with both odors and words as stimuli. The findings will not only be of theoretical significance to scholars of memory, olfaction, and/or aging, but will also have high potential for clinical applications. These applications could include: (1) diagnosis and treatment/management of olfactory deficits, and (2) diagnosis and treatment/management of non-demented older adults who are at high risk for AD, as determined by the nature and degree of odor memory deficits. The specific objectives of this project are: 1. Assess the nature and extent of differences among young, middle-aged, and older adults in olfactory versus verbal episodic memory (personally experienced events) performance. 2. Assess the nature and extent of differences among young, middle-aged, and older adults in olfactory versus verbal semantic memory (factual; world knowledge) performance. 3. Assess the nature and extent of differences among young, middle-aged, and older adults in olfactory versus verbal procedural memory (nonconscious facilitation of processing of repeated stimuli).

Project Methods
Each of three olfactory versus verbal memory experiments will be conducted on three age groups of adults (young, middle-aged, and elderly). Microencapulated odors and their verbal labels will serve as stimuli. The olfactory (versus verbal) episodic memory experiment (Objective 1) will consist of a study phase in which each odor (or word) is rated for both familiarity and pleasantness, followed by a 5-minute distractor task, after which a recognition test will be given on one-half of the old items; then, after an 30-minute delay (with a distractor task) a recognition test will be given on the remaining one-half of the old items. On both the short- and long-delay recognition tests, there will be equal numbers of old (i.e., from the study phase) and new items. The olfactory (versus verbal) semantic memory experiment (Objective 2) will utilize a semantic priming paradigm. There is a large literature on semantic priming with verbal (but not olfactory) stimuli: the basic finding is that a faster reaction time (RT) to read a word out loud, or to recognize a word (as opposed to a nonword) is obtained when the preceding word is semantically related. For example, the response to "truck" is faster when preceded by "car" than when preceded by "grape", due to the shared features in semantic memory in the former case. We will, for the first time, extend this paradigm to odors, by making use of similarity networks we have obtained from young adult participants for the names of 40 microencapsulated odors. We will pair odors (or their verbal labels) that have high versus low similarity as part of a continuous list of items, whereby participants make a "yes" versus "no" edibility judgement for each item, via a button press. Semantic priming (in either the odor or word condition) will be measured by the decrease in RT for items preceded by a similar item (e.g., another type of fruit, or another toxic item) as opposed to a dissimilar item. The olfactory (versus verbal) procedural memory experiment (Objective 3) will utilize a repetition priming paradigm. There is a large literature on repetition priming with verbal (but not olfactory) stimuli: the basic finding is that a faster identification RT is obtained when the same stimulus item has been seen previously. We will, for the first time, extend this paradigm to odors as well as to multiple adult age groups. There will be continuous presentation of a list of odors (or words); for each item, the experimenter will scratch the surface of the odor label, hand it to the subject, and press the "start" button when the subject takes the first inhalation; the subject will press a "yes" versus "no" key in response to the question "Is this odor familiar to you". Repetition priming (in either the odor or word condition) is measured by a decrease in RT (time from the experimenters to subjects button press) for repeated versus new stimuli.

Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:The outreach-related target audiences for this research included the following: assisted-living-facility residents (who attended public seminars/lectures by the PI), UC Davis staff, faculty, and retirees (who attended public lectures given by the PI), and graduate as well as undergraduate students in classroom, laboratory, informal working group, and seminar settings (these students were being taught/mentored by the PI). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During the 5-year reporting period, 25 undergraduate students and 3 undergraduate exchange students (from Brazil) received training and mentoring (including independent study coursework) in the PI's Cognition and Aging Laboratory. This training focused on research methods, accurate and secure handling of research data, scientific reasoning, and interpersonal skills for working with diverse populations, including older adults. This project also provided graduate-level training opportunities for two Ph.D. students in Human Development, who completed their degrees during this past year. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During the past five years, I have given public lectures (at least two per year) to university and community organizations focused on the applied/practical aspects of my research expertise (memory, brain, & aging). The university venues for my lectures have included: UCD WorkLife and Wellness Program (organized by Staff Development and Professional Services), UCD Emeriti Association, UCD Retirees' Association, and UCD Chancellor's Club. The community venues for my lectures include the following: Davis Senior Center, University Retirement Community, and Carlton Plaza of Davis. These community lectures are meant to educate the audience, in an enjoyable/engaging way, about the various types of human memory (and underlying brain regions) that do undergo change/decline (e.g., episodic memory) versus those that do not (e.g., semantic memory, procedural memory) in normal aging versus Alzheimer's disease. I also provide information that helps seniors and their care providers to plan and manage day-to-day, memory-based activities/obligations in a more effective and less stressful manner. I have also donated my time to serve as a consultant on enrichment programs for older adults in assisted-living facilities (University Retirement Community; Atria Covell Gardens). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have published several journal articles and a book chapter that are related to the major goals of this project; these are listed in "Products". We have also made significant progress in the data analysis and manuscript preparation for several major experimental studies of semantic memory functioning (access and utilization of "world knowledge", including olfactory knowledge) in Alzheimer's disease compared to normal aging.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Ober, B.A. (2010). Memory, brain and aging: The good, the bad and the promising. California Agriculture, 64(4): 174-182.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Nguyen, L.A., Ober, B.A., and Shenaut, G.K. (2012). Odor recognition Memory: Two encoding trials are better than one. Chemical Senses, 37(8): 745-754.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ober, B.A. and Shenaut, G.K. (2014). Repetition priming of words and nonwords in Alzheimer's disease and normal aging. Neuropsychology, 28(6): 973-983.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Blackburn, M.L., Bruhn, C.M., Miller, L.S., Ganthavorn, C., and Ober, B.A. (2014). Seniors, and their food handlers and caregivers, need food safety and nutrition education. California Agriculture, 68(1-2): 30-37.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2015 Citation: Torabian, S., Chen, Z., Ober, B.A., and Shenaut, G.K. (in press). Analogical retrieval of folktales: A cross-cultural approach. Journal of Cognition and Culture.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ober, B.A. (2014). Memory, Implicit/Explicit, Aminoff, M.J. and Daroff, R.B. (eds.), Encycopedia of the Neurological Sciences, 2nd Edition, Volume 2. Elsevier, Oxford, U.K., pp. 1042-1044.

Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The PI has continued to mentor a doctoral student who is conducting her dissertation research on memory in adulthood and aging, and more specifically, on episodic memory rehabilitation in adults with traumatic brain injury. The PI also continues to mentor 5 to 9 undergraduate student research assistants per academic quarter; these students are being trained in subject recruitment and screening, laboratory research methods, and neuropsychological evaluation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Continue to work on data analyses, including development and refinement of semantic network analysis, and, hopefully, write-up of the initial journal articles stemming from this work.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Continued progress is being made with data analyses, including the development of statististical techniques required to appropriately assess the semantic networks for concepts linked via olfactory versus visual features, in Alzheimer's Disease versus normal older and younger healthy adults.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ober, B. A., and Shenaut, G.K. (2014). Repetition priming of words and nonwords in Alzheimers disease and normal aging. Neuropsychology, 28, (6), 973-983.
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ober, B.A. (2014). Memory: Implicit/Explicit. Encyclopedia of Neurological Sciences, 2nd Edition. M. J. Aminoff and R. B. Daroff (Eds). Elsevier.

Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audiences during this reporting period included the following: assisted-living-facility residents, community members (who attended public lectures by the PI), UC Davis staff, faculty, and retirees (who attended a public lecture by the PI), and graduate as well as undergraduate students in formal classrooms and laboratory settings (who were taught/mentored by the PI). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? During this past year, 10 undergraduate students, and two post-graduate students received training/mentoring via UCD independent-study coursework, in the PI's Cognition and Aging Laboratory. This training focused on research methods, accurate and secure handling of research data, scientific reasoning, and interpersonal skills for working with diverse populations, including elders. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? In April 2013, the PI gave a public lecture ("Memory, Brain, and Aging: The Good, the Bad, and the Promising") at the Memorial Union on the U.C. Davis campus, attended by about 100 staff, faculty, & retirees. In September 2013, the PI gave a similar lecture at the University Retirement Community, Davis, CA, to about 200 attendees who were mostly community-dwelling seniors. The overall goal of the PI's lectures/workshops is to educate the audience members about the types of memory (and underlying brain regions) that do undergo change/decline (e.g., episodic/event memory), versus those that do not (e.g., world-knowledge, skill memory) in normal aging as compared to Alzheimer's disease. This information helps seniors (including those who are in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease), and their care providers to plan and manage day-to-day activities/obligations in a more effective and less stressful manner. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? During the next reporting period, we plan to develop some specialized analytical methods for comparing semantic knowledge networks for any given semantic domain (e.g., "animals", "tools") between groups of research participants (young adults, older adults, Alzheimer patients). These methods will enable us to appropriately analyze several large data sets we've collected on semantic similarity, when the similarity ratings are based on one of the following types of knowledge: verbal, visual or odor.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have a manuscript based on implicit memory (memory without awareness) in Alzheimer's disease compared to normal aging, which is now under revision for publication. We have also made significant progress in the data analysis and manuscript preparation for several other studies of semantic memory functioning (access and utilization of "world knowledge") in Alzheimer's disease versus normal aging.

Publications

Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Public lectures and workshops, some organized by UC Cooperative Extension and/or the UC ANR Workgroup on Aging, have been given by the PI (generally in collaboration with other experts on aging and dementia) to seniors and care-providers on normal versus abnormal memory functioning in aging. The overall goal of the PI's lectures/workshops is to educate the audience members about the types of memory that do undergo change/decline (e.g., episodic/event memory), versus those that do not (e.g., world-knowledge, skill memory) in normal aging, as well as in Alzheimer's disease. This information helps seniors (including those who are in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease), and their care providers to plan and manage day-to-day activities/obligations in a more effective and less stressful manner. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The PI utilizes behavioral research paradigms to delineate the effects of both task and stimulus variables on the access and utilization of semantic memory (i.e., "world knowledge") in older versus younger healthy adults, and in Alzheimer's disease compared to normal elderly individuals. Our findings thus far have shown that that neither Alzheimer's disease nor normal aging is associated with deficits in core aspects of semantic memory structure. Data collection was completed in the last quarter of 2010 for a study involving assessment of odor-based semantic knowledge, in relatively large samples of AD, normal elderly, and normal young individuals. The data entry and checking phase of this study was completed in 2012 enabling us to being data analysis and manuscript preparation. If any domain of semantic knowledge can be shown to be disrupted in mild-to-moderate AD, odor knowledge is such a domain, given the well-known deficits in odor perception that occur early in AD, and given the widely-accepted models of semantic knowledge as derived from multi-modality (e.g., vision, hearing, olfaction) percepts. The degree to which semantic memory is spared versus impaired (including whether impairments are limited to only certain types of semantic domains) is highly relevant to the assessment, treatment, and day-to-day management of Alzheimer's disease, which effects close to 10% of adults over 65 years of age. For instance, daily activities for Alzheimer patients should be set up to depend as much as possible on semantic memory abilities (in conjunction with procedural/skill memory abilities), rather than being based on memory for recent events/episodes.

Publications

• Nguyen, L.A., Ober, B.A., & Shenaut, G.K. (2012). Olfactory recognition memory: Two encoding trials are better than one. Chemical Senses, 37(8), 745-754.

Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Public lectures and workshops, some organized by UC Cooperative Extension and/or the UC ANR Workgroup on Aging, have been given by the PI (generally in collaboration with other experts on aging and dementia) to seniors and care-providers on normal versus abnormal memory functioning in aging. For example, in May 2011, I gave a presentation to UCD Staff, entitled "Memory, Brain, and Aging: The Good, the Bad, and the Promising"; this presentation was part of the UCD Work-Life and Wellness Brown Bag Series, and over 100 staff members attended. The overall goal of the PI's lectures/workshops is to educate the audience members about the types of memory that do undergo change/decline (e.g., episodic/event memory), versus those that do not (e.g., world-knowledge, skill memory) in normal aging, as well as in Alzheimer's disease. This information helps seniors (including those who are in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease), and their care providers to plan and manage day-to-day activities/obligations in a more effective and less stressful manner. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The PI utilizes behavioral research paradigms to delineate the effects of both task and stimulus variables on the access and utilization of semantic memory (i.e., "world knowledge") in older versus younger healthy adults, and in Alzheimer's disease compared to normal elderly individuals. Our findings thus far have shown that that neither Alzheimer's disease nor normal aging is associated with deficits in core aspects of semantic memory structure. Data collection was completed in the last quarter of 2010 for a study involving assessment of odor-based semantic knowledge, in relatively large samples of AD, normal elderly, and normal young individuals. The data entry and checking phase of this study will be completed in 2012, enabling data analysis and manuscript preparation. If any domain of semantic knowledge can be shown to be disrupted in mild-to-moderate AD, odor knowledge is such a domain, given the well-known deficits in odor perception that occur early in AD, and given the widely-accepted models of semantic knowledge as derived from multi-modality (e.g., vision, hearing, olfaction) percepts. The degree to which semantic memory is spared versus impaired (including whether impairments are limited to only certain types of semantic domains) is highly relevant to the assessment, treatment, and day-to-day management of Alzheimer's disease, which effects close to 10% of adults over 65 years of age. For instance, daily activities for Alzheimer patients should be set up to depend as much as possible on semantic memory abilities (in conjunction with procedural/skill memory abilities), rather than being based on memory for recent events/episodes.

Publications

• Ober, B.A. (2012). Memory: Implicit/Explicit. Encyclopedia of Neurological Sciences, 2nd Edition. M. J. Aminoff and R. B. Daroff (Eds). Elsevier.

Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Enter narrative in this block. A review paper on "Memory, Brain, and Aging" designed for general-audience dissemination was revised and then accepted for publication in California Agriculture. The aim of this review paper was to explain: (a) which aspects of memory are, versus are not, affected by normal aging, (b) linkages between memory changes and brain changes associated with normal aging, and (c) how physical and mental activity affect cognitive and brain function in normal aging. This review paper was part of a special issue of California Agriculture (Fall 2010 issue) on the topic of "California Aging" for which the PI served as faculty editor/coordinator. Public lectures and workshops, some organized by UC Cooperative Extension and/or the UC ANR Workgroup on Aging, have been given by the PI (generally in collaboration with other experts on aging and dementia) to seniors and care-providers on normal versus abnormal memory functioning in aging. The overall goal of the PI's lectures/workshops is to educate the audience members about the types of memory that do undergo change/decline (e.g., episodic/event memory), versus those that do not (e.g., world-knowledge, skill memory) in normal aging, as well as in Alzheimer's disease. This information helps seniors (including those who are in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease), and their care providers to plan and manage day-to-day activities/obligations in a more effective and less stressful manner. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Enter narrative in this block. The PI utilizes behavioral research paradigms to delineate the effects of both task and stimulus variables on the access and utilization of semantic memory (i.e., "world knowledge") in older versus younger healthy adults, and in Alzheimer's disease compared to normal elderly individuals. Our findings thus far have shown that that neither Alzheimer's disease nor normal aging is associated with deficits in core aspects of semantic memory structure. Data collection was completed in 2010 for a study involving assessment of odor-based semantic knowledge, in relatively large samples of AD, normal elderly, and normal young individuals. The data entry and checking phase will be completed in 2011, enabling data analysis and manuscript preparation. If any domain of semantic knowledge can be shown to be disrupted in AD, odor knowledge is such a domain, given the well-known deficits in odor perception that occur early in AD, and given the widely-accepted models of semantic knowledge as derived from multi-modality (e.g., vision, hearing, olfaction) percepts. The degree to which semantic memory is spared versus impaired (including whether impairments are limited to only certain types of semantic domains) is highly relevant to the assessment, treatment, and day-to-day management of Alzheimer's disease, which effects close to 10% of adults over 65 years of age. For instance, daily activities for Alzheimer patients should be set up to depend as much as possible on semantic memory abilities (in conjunction with procedural/skill memory abilities), rather than being based on memory for recent events/episodes.

Publications

• Ober, B.A. (2010). Memory, brain, and aging: The good, the bad and the promising. California Agriculture, 64 (4), 174-182.
• Baynes, K., Shenaut ,G.K., Ober, B.A., Davis C.H., D'Angelo, E., Teague, A. (2010). Use of semantic activation in rehabilitation of naming in fluent aphasia. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 6, 227-228. [Academy of Aphasia, October, 2010]