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Associations between memory performance and hippocampal and medial temporal sub-regional volumes in cognitively healthy young and middle-aged adults

Poster Session D - Monday, March 9, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Anjana Anandan¹ (), Claire McIntyre¹, Marianne de Chastelaine¹, Ambereen Kidwai¹, Michael Rugg¹; ¹The University of Texas at Dallas

Prior findings regarding the relationship between medial temporal lobe (MTL) subfield volumes and memory performance are mixed. Here we utilized ‘Automated Segmentation of Hippocampal Subfields’ (ASHS) to investigate associations between MTL subfield volumes and memory performance in cognitively healthy adults. Thirty-six young (18-27 years) and 43 middle-aged (44-56 years) participants completed a neuropsychological test battery from which four principal components were derived, termed ‘memory’, speed’, ‘fluency’, and ‘crystallized IQ’. T1-weighted and high-resolution T2-weighted scans were collected in a separate MRI session in which participants performed an episodic memory task comprising sequential item and source memory judgments. Structural images were processed through ASHS and manually edited to obtain volumetric data for hippocampal subfields and surrounding MTL regions. All volumes were adjusted for ICV. Item and source memory performance were lower in middle-aged relative to young adults. Parahippocampal cortex (PHC) volume was greater in young relative to the middle-aged adults, whereas subiculum volume was greater in the middle-aged sample. Initial regression models revealed no significant interactions between age group and volume for the prediction of cognitive performance. Total hippocampal volume (including CA1, CA2/3, dentate gyrus and subiculum) was positively associated with source, but not item, memory performance. Hippocampal volume was not reliably associated with the off-line memory component score but did correlate positively with general cognitive ability (derived by averaging across the four component scores). These findings are consistent with other reports of a positive association between hippocampal volume and episodic memory performance in healthy adults.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic