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53/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 53 out of 100. Caregiving

Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis

Cerebral amyloid beta (Aβ) deposition occurs in a substantial fraction of cognitively normal (CN) older individuals. However, it has been difficult to reliably detect evidence of amyloid-related cognitive alterations in CN using standard neuropsychological measures. We sought to determine whether a highly demanding face-name associative memory exam (FNAME) could detect evidence of Aβ-related memory impairment in CN. We studied 45 CN subjects (mean age=71.7 ± 8.8) with Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scores=0 and MMSE ≥ 28, using Positron Emission Tomography with Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB PET). Memory factor scores were derived from a principal components analysis for FNAME name retrieval (FN-N), FNAME occupation retrieval (FN-O) and the 6-Trial Selective Reminding Test (SRT). Using multiple linear and logistic regression analyses, we related the memory factor scores to PiB distribution volume ratios (DVR, cerebellar reference) as either a continuous or a dichotomous variable in frontal cortex and a posterior cortical region representing the precuneus, posterior cingulate and lateral parietal cortices (PPCLP), co-varying for age and AMNART IQ (a proxy of cognitive reserve (CR)). A significant inverse relationship for FN-N was found with Aβ deposition in frontal (R(2)=0.29, β=-2.2, p=0.02) and PPCLP cortices (R(2)=0.26, β=-2.4, p=0.05). In contrast, neither FN-O nor the SRT were significantly related to Aβ deposition. Performance on a demanding test of face-name associative memory was related to Aβ burden in brain regions associated with memory systems. Associative memory for faces and names, a common complaint among older adults, may be a sensitive marker of early Aβ-related impairment.

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APA 7th

Rentz, D. M., Amariglio, R. E., Becker, J. A., Frey, M., Olson, L. E., Frishe, K., et al. (2011). Face-name associative memory performance is related to amyloid burden in normal elderly. Neuropsychologia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.06.006

Vancouver

Rentz DM, Amariglio RE, Becker JA, Frey M, Olson LE, Frishe K, et al. Face-name associative memory performance is related to amyloid burden in normal elderly. Neuropsychologia. 2011. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.06.006. PMID: 21689670.

BibTeX

@article{rentz2011-21689670,
  author  = {Rentz, D. M. and Amariglio, R. E. and Becker, J. A. and Frey, M. and Olson, L. E. and Frishe, K. and Carmasin, J. and Maye, J. E. and others},
  title   = {{Face-name associative memory performance is related to amyloid burden in normal elderly}},
  journal = {Neuropsychologia},
  year    = {2011},
  doi     = {10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.06.006},
  pmid    = {21689670},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.06.006}
}

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Key findings

A significant inverse relationship for FN-N was found with Aβ deposition in frontal (R(2)=0.29, β=-2.2, p=0.02) and PPCLP cortices (R(2)=0.26, β=-2.4, p=0.05).
In contrast, neither FN-O nor the SRT were significantly related to Aβ deposition.
Performance on a demanding test of face-name associative memory was related to Aβ burden in brain regions associated with memory systems.

Why it matters

In 45 cognitively normal older subjects, performance on a demanding face-name associative memory test was related to amyloid beta burden in brain regions associated with memory systems, while other memory measures were not. This is a small cross-sectional study and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.

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Study details

Participants45
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 53/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neuropsychologia)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	Neuropsychologia: journal h-index 321 (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	2011 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	1 / 4	45 participants
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 264 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	15.5 citations a year over 17 year(s) since 2011
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 6.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	3 / 6	Cited by 13 other studies in this library
Still being cited	3 / 4	Cited 81 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Reisa Anne Sperling: h-index 157 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	3 / 3	Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 21689670)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	53 / 100	—

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