Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31501542›Full record

ArticleNature human behaviour2019

Rostral locus coeruleus integrity is associated with better memory performance in older adults.

Martin J Dahl, Mara Mather, Sandra Düzel, Nils C Bodammer, Ulman Lindenberger, Simone Kühn, Markus Werkle-Bergner

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature human behaviour, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 142 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
142citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

142 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
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  5. Daily heart rate variability biofeedback training decreases locus coeruleus MRI contrast in younger adults in a randomized clinical trial.International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology · 2023
    Trial
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. The Noradrenergic Brain in Parkinson's Disease.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2026
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Sex differences in neuromodulatory subcortical systems and their implications for Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Review
  14. Article
  15. Pupil dilation as a marker of attention/effort in aging and mild cognitive impairment.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article

82 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Martin J DahlCenter for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany. dahl@mpib-berlin.mpg.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3525-0539
Mara MatherDavis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4331-6112
Sandra DüzelCenter for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
Nils C BodammerCenter for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
Ulman LindenbergerCenter for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8428-6453
Simone KühnDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Markus Werkle-BergnerCenter for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany. werkle@mpib-berlin.mpg.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6399-9996

Funding

The Impact of Emotional Regulation on Cognition in AgingR01AG025340 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI MATHER, MARA · 2004 to 2021
$7.9M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG025340
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

For decades, research into memory decline in human cognitive ageing has focused on neocortical regions, the hippocampus and dopaminergic neuromodulation. Recent findings indicate that the locus coeruleus (LC) and noradrenergic neuromodulation may also play an important role in shaping memory development in later life. However, technical challenges in quantification of LC integrity have hindered the study of LC-cognition associations in humans. Using high-resolution, neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging, we found that individual differences in learning and memory were positively associated with LC integrity across a variety of memory tasks in both younger (n = 66) and older adults (n = 228). Moreover, we observed functionally relevant age differences confined to rostral LC. Older adults with a more 'youth-like' rostral LC also showed higher memory performance. These findings link non-invasive, in vivo indices of LC integrity to memory in ageing and highlight the role of the LC norepinephrine system in the decline of cognition.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsHumansLocus CoeruleusMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMemoryMental RecallMiddle AgedNeuroimaging

Identifiers

PMID31501542
PMCPMC7203800

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.