Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40315539›Full record

ArticleNeurobiology of aging2025

Lower locus coeruleus integrity is associated with diminished practice effects in clinically unimpaired older individuals.

Lindsay F Smegal, Marion Baillet, Christoph Schneider, Roos J Jutten, Rory Boyle, Dorene M Rentz, Keith A Johnson, Reisa A Sperling, Kathryn V Papp, Heidi I L Jacobs

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neurobiology of aging, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Pupil dilation as a marker of attention/effort in aging and mild cognitive impairment.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Article
  3. Locus coeruleus-related insula activation supports implicit learning.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Lindsay F SmegalAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
Marion BailletAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Christoph SchneiderAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Roos J JuttenDepartment of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Rory BoyleDepartment of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Dorene M RentzDepartment of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Keith A JohnsonDepartment of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Reisa A SperlingDepartment of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Kathryn V PappDepartment of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Heidi I L JacobsAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Alzheimer Centre Limburg, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200MD, the Netherlands. Electronic address: hjacobs@mgh.harvard.edu.

Funding

Project 1U19AG024904 · NIA · NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE/RES/EDU · PI MONICA G. RIVERA-MINDT · 2016 to 2026
$226.7M
Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative - SupplementU01AG024904 · NIA · NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE RES &EDUC · PI WEINER, MICHAEL W · 2004 to 2015
$121.0M
TRIAL OF VALPROATE TO ATTENUATE THE PROGRESSION OF ADU01AG010483 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · PI AISEN, PAUL S. · 1991 to 2012
$116.2M
RECRUITMENT COREU19AG010483 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI FELDMAN, HOWARD · 2013 to 2020
$80.6M
Vascular factors, physical activity, and inflammation as modulators of neurodegenerative and cognitive trajectories (Project 2)P01AG036694 · NIA · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI REISA A. SPERLING · 2010 to 2026
$50.2M
THE ROLE OF ADVANCED CAA IN ALZHEIMER'S DEMENTIAP50AG005134 · NIA · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI HYMAN, BRADLEY T. · 1985 to 2018
$42.1M
Training and Dissemination CoreP41EB030006 · NIBIB · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI Susie Yi Huang · 2020 to 2026
$10.9M
Project 4P41EB015896 · NIBIB · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI ROSEN, BRUCE R · 2012 to 2018
$9.8M
Evolution of memory-related fMRI activation over the course of MCI and ADR01AG027435 · NIA · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI JOHNSON, KEITH A., SPERLING, REISA A. · 2006 to 2016
$8.6M
Vascular Dysfunction in Cerebral Amyloid AngiopathyR01AG026484 · NIA · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI GREENBERG, STEVEN M · 2005 to 2019
$7.5M
Imaging CoreU01AG032438 · NIA · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI XIONG, CHENGJIE · 2008 to 2009
$6.1M
Tracking the origin of tau pathology: dovetailing (pre-)preclinical biomarker trajectoriesR01AG062559 · NIA · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI Heidi Irma Jacobs · 2019 to 2026
$4.8M
NCRR NIH HHS S10 RR019307NCRR NIH HHS S10 RR021110NCRR NIH HHS S10 RR023043NCRR NIH HHS S10 RR023401NIA NIH HHS K24 AG035007NIA NIH HHS P01 AG036694NIA NIH HHS P50 AG005134NIA NIH HHS R01 AG026484NIA NIH HHS R01 AG027435NIA NIH HHS R01 AG034556NIA NIH HHS R01 AG037497NIA NIH HHS R01 AG046396NIA NIH HHS R01 AG062559NIA NIH HHS R01 AG068062NIA NIH HHS R01 AG082006NIA NIH HHS R21 AG038994NIA NIH HHS U01 AG010483NIA NIH HHS U01 AG024904NIA NIH HHS U01 AG032438NIA NIH HHS U01 AG051421NIA NIH HHS U19 AG010483NIA NIH HHS U19 AG024904NIBIB NIH HHS P41 EB015896NIBIB NIH HHS P41 EB030006NIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB014894NIH HHS S10 OD010364NIH HHS S10 OD023637
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The locus coeruleus (LC), one of the earliest structures affected by tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD), plays an important role in modulating arousal and learning. In asymptomatic early stages of AD, more sensitive measures to identify subtle cognitive changes are needed. Previous studies indicate that practice effects can signal initial AD-related learning deficits. Here, we assessed the association between LC integrity and practice effects. We combined dedicated LC-MRI methods with at-home computerized face-name letter task (FNLT), a Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST), and a one card learning task (OCL) performed monthly over one year in 76 older participants from the Harvard Aging Brain Study. Higher LC integrity was related to lower MST reaction times at baseline, and lower MST and FNLT reaction times over one year. No significant associations were found with the OCL. Participants with low accuracy practice effect trajectories exhibited low baseline PACC-5 scores, whereas those with higher reaction times over time displayed low LC integrity, high entorhinal, and high amygdala tau at baseline. These findings suggest reaction times measured monthly may be a sensitive measure for early AD-related biomarkers such as LC integrity and tau burden in preclinical AD.

Indexed as

AgingAlzheimer DiseaseLearningLocus CoeruleusAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleReaction Timetau Proteinstau ProteinsLearningLocus coeruleusNeuroimagingPractice effectsPreclinical ADReaction times

Identifiers

PMID40315539
PMCPMC12581611

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.