Decline in spatial context memory emerges in midlife, the time when most females transition from pre- to post-menopause. Recent evidence suggests that, among post-menopausal females, advanced age is associated with functional brain alterations and lower spatial context memory. However, it is unknown whether similar effects are evident for white matter (WM) and, moreover, whether such effects contribute to sex differences at midlife. To address this, we conducted a study on 96 cognitively unimpaired middle-aged adults (30 males, 32 pre-menopausal females, 34 post-menopausal females). Spatial context memory was assessed using a face-location memory paradigm, while WM microstructure was assessed using diffusion tensor imaging. Behaviorally, advanced age was associated with lower spatial context memory in post-menopausal females but not pre-menopausal females or males. Additionally, advanced age was associated with microstructural variability in predominantly frontal WM (e.g., anterior corona radiata, genu of corpus callosum), which was related to lower spatial context memory among post-menopausal females. Our findings suggest that post-menopausal status enhances vulnerability to age effects on the brain’s WM and episodic memory.

中文翻译：

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中年时空间背景记忆和白质微观结构与更年期状态和性别相关的年龄差异


空间背景记忆的衰退出现在中年，即大多数女性从绝经前过渡到绝经后的时期。最近的证据表明，在绝经后女性中，高龄与大脑功能改变和空间背景记忆较低有关。然而，目前尚不清楚白质（WM）是否存在类似的影响，而且这种影响是否会导致中年的性别差异。为了解决这个问题，我们对 96 名认知未受损的中年人（30 名男性、32 名绝经前女性、34 名绝经后女性）进行了研究。使用面部位置记忆范式评估空间上下文记忆，而使用扩散张量成像评估 WM 微观结构。在行为上，绝经后女性的高龄与较低的空间情境记忆相关，但绝经前的女性或男性则没有。此外，高龄与主要额叶 WM（例如前辐射冠、胼胝体膝部）的微观结构变异相关，这与绝经后女性较低的空间背景记忆有关。我们的研究结果表明，绝经后状态更容易受到年龄对大脑 WM 和情景记忆的影响。