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Cognitive Aging and the Hippocampus in Older Adults
O'Shea A, Cohen RA, Porges EC, Nissim NR, Woods AJ.. Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 2016-12-08
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The hippocampus is one of the most well studied structures in the human brain. While age-related decline in hippocampal volume is well documented, most of our knowledge about hippocampal structure-function relationships was discovered in the context of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. The relationship between cognitive aging and hippocampal structure in the absence of disease remains relatively understudied.
Key findings
- While age-related decline in hippocampal volume is well documented, most of our knowledge about hippocampal structure-function relationships was discovered in the context of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases.
- The relationship between cognitive aging and hippocampal structure in the absence of disease remains relatively understudied.
- Furthermore, the few studies that have investigated the role of the hippocampus in cognitive aging have produced contradictory results.
- To address these issues, we assessed 93 older adults from the general community (mean age = 71.9 ± 9.3 years) on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a brief cognitive screening measure for dementia, and the NIH Toolbox-Cognitive Battery (NIHTB-CB), a computerized neurocognitive battery.
Why it matters
This paper notes that the link between normal cognitive aging and hippocampal structure is still poorly studied, with contradictory results so far. It is background on brain aging without disease and offers no treatment, cure or prevention.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in aging neuroscience) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience: journal h-index 174 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2016 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 234 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 19.5 citations a year over 12 year(s) since 2016 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 86 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Adam J. Woods: h-index 50 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Florida: institution h-index 1,303 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28008314) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2016.00298
- PubMed: 28008314
- Original source →
- Free full text: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
O'Shea, A., Cohen, R. A., Porges, E. C., Nissim, N. R., & Woods, A. J. (2016). Cognitive Aging and the Hippocampus in Older Adults. Frontiers in aging neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2016.00298
Vancouver
O'Shea A, Cohen RA, Porges EC, Nissim NR, Woods AJ. Cognitive Aging and the Hippocampus in Older Adults. Frontiers in aging neuroscience. 2016. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2016.00298. PMID: 28008314.
BibTeX
@article{oshea2016-28008314,
author = {O'Shea, A. and Cohen, R. A. and Porges, E. C. and Nissim, N. R. and Woods, A. J.},
title = {{Cognitive Aging and the Hippocampus in Older Adults}},
journal = {Frontiers in aging neuroscience},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.3389/fnagi.2016.00298},
pmid = {28008314},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2016.00298}
}
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