Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42344858›Full record

ArticleBMJ neurology open2026

Introducing the SAGE study: a multimodal protocol for testing a GABAergic mechanism of age-related episodic memory impairment across the sexes.

Joan Jiménez-Balado, Andrew Prescot, Craig Stark, Jonas Kaplan, Wendy J Mack, Barbara Knowlton, Georg Oeltzschner, Teal Eich

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In one paragraph

Article in BMJ neurology open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Joan Jiménez-BaladoNeurovascular Research Lab, Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain.
Andrew PrescotSugarData, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Craig StarkDepartment of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA.
Jonas KaplanDepartment of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Wendy J MackDepartment of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Barbara KnowltonDepartment of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Georg OeltzschnerRussell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Teal EichLeonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4094-3276

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that severely hinders quality of life. Hippocampal hyperactivity is recognised as a biological marker of AD pathology and is associated with episodic memory impairments, the hallmark cognitive symptom of AD. What drives this hyperactivity, however, is not well understood. γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. Animal models show that age-related GABAergic dysregulation drives hippocampal hyperactivity and cognitive impairment. However, whether this same mechanism translates to humans remains untested. Further, the role of biological sex has not been considered despite the fact that oestrogen modulates GABA receptor expression and GABA release in the hippocampus. Here, we introduce the Sex, Age, GABA, Episodic memory (SAGE) study, a protocol aimed to test an age and sex based GABAergic mechanism of memory impairment in humans. Methods and analysis: The SAGE study, which will collect multimodal data from 300 healthy adults (100 per decade from age 50 years to 79 years, two-thirds women), aims to test whether age-related GABAergic dysregulation drives hippocampal hyperactivity and episodic memory decline in humans and whether this mechanism is moderated by sex.

Indexed as

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASEBRAIN MAPPINGCOGNITIONCOGNITIVE NEUROPSYCHOLOGYFUNCTIONAL IMAGING

Identifiers

PMID42344858
PMCPMC13288879

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.