TY - JOUR T1 - Locus coeruleus integrity preserves memory performance across the adult life span JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/332098 SP - 332098 AU - Martin J. Dahl AU - Mara Mather AU - Sandra Düzel AU - Nils C. Bodammer AU - Ulman Lindenberger AU - Simone Kühn AU - Markus Werkle-Bergner Y1 - 2018/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/05/28/332098.abstract N2 - For decades, the search for drivers of memory decline in human cognitive aging has focused on neocortical regions, the hippocampus, and dopaminergic neuromodulation. Recent findings indicate that the locus coeruleus (LC) and noradrenergic neuromodulation may also play an important role in shaping memory development in later life. However, technical challenges in non-invasive monitoring of LC integrity have hindered the study of LC-cognition associations in humans so far. Using high-resolution neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging, we found that individual differences in learning and memory were positively associated with LC integrity across a variety of memory tasks in large samples of younger (n = 66), and older adults (n = 233). Moreover, we observed spatially confined and functionally relevant age differences in rostral LC. Older adults who showed a more youth-like rostral LC also showed higher memory performance. These findings link non-invasive, in vivo indices of LC integrity to memory in human aging and extend our knowledge about the role of the LC norepinephrine system in senescent decline in human cognition. ER -