Home › Research › Disease mechanisms
Metabolic correlates of Rey auditory verbal learning test in elderly subjects with memory complaints
Brugnolo A, Morbelli S, Arnaldi D, De Carli F, Accardo J, Bossert I, Dessi B, Famà F et al.. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2014-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
We evaluated the brain metabolic correlates of main indexes of a widely used word list learning test, the Rey Auditory Verbal Memory Test (RAVLT), in a group of elderly subjects with memory complaints. Fifty-four subjects (age: 72.02 ± 7.45; Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score: 28.9 ± 1.24) presenting at a memory clinic complaining of memory deficit, but not demented, and thirty controls (age: 71.87 ± 7.08; MMSE score: 29.1 ± 1.1) were included. Subjects with memory complaints included both patients with (amnestic mild cognitive impairment, aMCI) and without (subjective memory complaints, SMC) impairment on memory tests. All subjects underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), analyzed with statistical parametric. Patients with aMCI but not those with SMC showed the expected posterior cingulate-precuneus and parietal hypometabolism as compared to controls. Correlation was determined for between four indexes of the RAVLT and brain metabolism. The results show a significant correlation between the delayed recall score and metabolism in posterior cingulate gyrus of both hemispheres and in left precuneus, as well as between a score of long-term percent retention and metabolism in left posterior cingulate gyrus, precuneus, and orbitofrontal areas. These correlations survived correction for age, education, and MMSE score. No correlation was found between immediate or total recall scores and glucose metabolism. These data show the relevant role of posterior cingulate-precuneus and orbitofrontal cortices in retention and retrieval of de-contextualized verbal memory material in a group of elderly subjects with memory complaints and shed light on the topography of synaptic dysfunction in these subjects, overlapping that found in the earliest stages of Alzheimer-type neurodegeneration.
Key findings
- Patients with aMCI but not those with SMC showed the expected posterior cingulate-precuneus and parietal hypometabolism as compared to controls.
- The results show a significant correlation between the delayed recall score and metabolism in posterior cingulate gyrus of both hemispheres and in left precuneus, as well as between a score of long-term percent retention and metabolism in left posterior cingulate gyrus, precuneus, and orbitofrontal areas.
Why it matters
In older adults with memory complaints, brain glucose scans (FDG-PET) showed that delayed recall on a standard word-list test was tied to activity in the posterior cingulate and precuneus, and long-term retention also to orbitofrontal areas. Immediate recall scores showed no such link. The authors say these regions overlap those affected in the earliest stages of Alzheimer-type brain changes, helping map where memory problems begin.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Alzheimer s Disease: journal h-index 218 (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 | 2014 — 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 | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 43 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.1 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 4 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Flavio Mariano Nobili: h-index 84 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | National Research Council: institution h-index 840 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24150105) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
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. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Brugnolo, A., Morbelli, S., Arnaldi, D., De Carli, F., Accardo, J., Bossert, I., et al. (2014). Metabolic correlates of Rey auditory verbal learning test in elderly subjects with memory complaints. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-121684
Vancouver
Brugnolo A, Morbelli S, Arnaldi D, De Carli F, Accardo J, Bossert I, et al. Metabolic correlates of Rey auditory verbal learning test in elderly subjects with memory complaints. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2014. doi:10.3233/jad-121684. PMID: 24150105.
BibTeX
@article{brugnolo2014-24150105,
author = {Brugnolo, A. and Morbelli, S. and Arnaldi, D. and De Carli, F. and Accardo, J. and Bossert, I. and Dessi, B. and Famà, F. and others},
title = {{Metabolic correlates of Rey auditory verbal learning test in elderly subjects with memory complaints}},
journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.3233/jad-121684},
pmid = {24150105},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-121684}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 13.
Related studies in Disease mechanisms
Also tagged “cognitive-function”
1,118 studies in the library carry the topic tag “cognitive-function”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,118 tagged studies.