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Connectome-based modelling of inter-individual variability in perceptual and mnemonic fidelity in healthy ageing

Poster Session C - Sunday, March 8, 2026, 5:00 – 7:00 pm PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom
Also presenting in Data Blitz Session 2 - Saturday, March 7, 2026, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm PST, Salon D.

Helena M. Gellersen^1,2,3 (), Isabella Hendricks^2,4, Elora Graham², Richard N. Henson^1,5, Jon S. Simons²; ¹MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK, ²Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, UK, ³German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany, ⁴Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, USA, ⁵Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK

Ageing reduces the fidelity of perceptual and mnemonic representations, but individuals vary widely in terms of cognitive maintenance. We used connectome-based modelling on resting-state fMRI data to identify which functional interactions between brain regions best explain inter-individual variability in 149 older adults at baseline and 44 at follow-up seven years later. Participants performed perceptual discrimination (PD) tasks with similar stimuli and mnemonic discrimination (MD) tasks, one which requires distinction between an encoded target and a simultaneously presented similar lure (Forced Choice: FC) and one in which either target or lure were shown at retrieval (Yes/No: YN). These tasks were chosen to manipulate the degree to which strategic recollection is needed to avoid false recognition. We focused on medial temporal lobe, default-mode and frontoparietal network regions. Over seven years, Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores were stable. Older adults declined in YN, but not FC performance highlighting the influence of retrieval support as determinant of age-related memory dysfunction. PD performance also declined, possibly due to working memory demands. The functional connectome predicted baseline YN, but not FC performance, with hippocampal-temporal and temporal-parietal connections contributing most. Change in YN was best predicted by entorhinal and prefrontal cortical connections. Entorhinal-perirhinal connectivity also explained variability in PD. These findings suggest that complex perceptual discrimination and recollection-, but not familiarity-based memory fidelity or standard neuropsychological tests are sensitive to age-related changes in cognition. Both tasks index the integrity of networks vulnerable to Alzheimer’s pathology, providing further evidence for potential use of these tasks in early detection.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Development & aging