Impairments in memory and hippocampal function in HIV-positive vs HIV-negative women A preliminary study

P. M. Maki, M. H. Cohen, K. Weber, D. M. Little, D. Fornelli, L. H. Rubin, P. Perschler, F. Gould, E. Martin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

84 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: Neurocognitive studies of HIV typically target executive functions dependent on fron-tostriatal circuitry. The integrity of medial temporal systems has received considerably less attention despite high hippocampal viral load. Studies also predominately involve HIV+ men, though HIV+ women may be at increased risk for cognitive dysfunction due to the high prevalence of psychosocial/mental health problems and lower educational attainment. Our aim was to conduct a preliminary investigation of episodic memory and its neural correlates in HIV-infected and at-risk uninfected women. Methods: Participants included 54 HIV+ and 12 HIV- women (mean age = 43 years; 86% African American) recruited from the Chicago site of the Women's Interagency HIV Study. Participants completed standardized tests of verbal and visual episodic memory, working memory, and executive function. A subset of 11 women also underwent functional MRI during a delayed verbal episodic memory task. Results: HIV serostatus predicted significantly lower immediate and delayed verbal episodic memory, working memory, and visual memory. Preliminary neuroimaging findings revealed group differences in bilateral hippocampal function, with HIV+ women showing decreased activation during encoding and increased activation during delayed recognition. These alterations correlated with worse episodic verbal memory. Conclusions: Verbal episodic memory deficits are evident in HIV+ women and may be associated with hippocampal dysfunction at both encoding and retrieval

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1661-1668
Number of pages8
JournalNeurology
Volume72
Issue number19
DOIs
StatePublished - May 12 2009
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Neurology

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