There isn’t a distinction over time within the spatial working reminiscence of older individuals who have autistic traits and those that are neurotypical, finds a brand new examine led by UCL researchers.
The brand new analysis, revealed in The Gerontologist, is the primary examine to discover age-related charge of decline in spatial working reminiscence in older folks who could also be autistic.
Spatial working reminiscence helps folks to recollect and use details about the place issues are and the way they’re organized. It’s sometimes used for duties that contain navigating areas or organizing objects.
As folks become old, spatial working reminiscence can typically turn into much less efficient, which is an instance of cognitive decline.
This decline might be part of regular getting older, however it can be extra pronounced in situations like Alzheimer’s illness.
Spatial working reminiscence can be affected in autistic folks—particularly on the subject of duties that contain remembering and organizing visible data. Consequently, there has beforehand been debate over whether or not autism could result in elevated danger of cognitive decline and, by extension, future dementia.
For the brand new examine, the analysis staff used information from 10,060 folks over the age of fifty within the UK who had been assessed as having autistic traits—corresponding to issue with social communication and interplay, and restricted or repetitive behaviors or pursuits—from the PROTECT examine.
They discovered that 1.5% of the cohort had excessive ranges of autistic traits and could also be autistic, which is corresponding to prevalence estimates of autism within the common inhabitants.
The staff analyzed this information utilizing a way referred to as progress combination modeling to see how individuals’ spatial working reminiscence modified over a seven-year interval.
The findings of the examine confirmed that most individuals, whether or not they had excessive ranges of autistic traits or not, maintained their cognitive capability over time. This recommended that autistic folks weren’t extra more likely to expertise cognitive decline on this area.
Corresponding creator, Professor Joshua Stott (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) mentioned, “Autism is a neurodevelopmental situation related to variations in social communication and repetitive patterns of sensory motor behaviors.
“It’s identified that autistic folks usually even have cognitive variations relative to non-autistic folks. In gentle of this and a present world World Well being Group-led give attention to prevention of cognitive decline and dementia, there was appreciable curiosity in whether or not having a neurodevelopmental situation like autism can have an effect on your danger of age-related cognitive decline, and doubtlessly dementia.
“Our work supplies no assist for any distinction between autistic folks and neurotypical folks by way of elevated danger of age-related cognitive decline.
“Whereas there are limitations and extra research are wanted, wanting immediately at different facets of cognitive decline and dementia danger in the neighborhood reasonably than well being care data samples, this analysis supplies helpful proof that may hopefully assist to reassure autistic folks about this regarding difficulty.”
Earlier analysis has indicated that there could also be greater dementia charges in older adults with autism.
Nonetheless, these research, which have a look at well being care data, are hindered by the very low diagnostic charge of autism in older folks (round one in 9 adults over the age of fifty are identified within the UK), which means that they solely have a look at a really specific and small subsample of autistic folks, who in all probability have extra well being care difficulties and consequently are at larger danger of dementia than autistic folks basically.
In the meantime, different research that assist the speculation that autism has no additional impact on cognitive decline have beforehand solely checked out whether or not autistic folks differ in cognition from non-autistic (neurotypical) folks at a single time level—reasonably than monitoring modifications over time.
Senior creator Dr. Gavin Stewart, British Academy Postdoctoral Analysis Fellow on the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s Faculty London, mentioned, “Understanding how getting older intersects with autism is a crucial but understudied matter. Getting older usually comes with a spread of modifications, together with in well being and cognition.
“As autistic folks might be at larger danger of sure well being issues and have cognitive variations to non-autistic folks, we have to know whether or not autistic folks could have totally different patterns of getting older than their non-autistic friends.
“This examine supplies some reassuring proof that some facets of cognition change equally in autistic and non-autistic populations.”
Future research ought to take a look at folks for an extended time and embody a wider age vary to know reminiscence modifications higher. These findings additionally must be replicated in samples who meet diagnostic standards for autism.
Examine limitations
The examine solely included individuals who might use a pc and the web, so it may not signify all older adults within the UK.
In the meantime, the take a look at for autistic traits primarily checked out social and communication points, not different autism-related behaviors, which could have an effect on the outcomes.
And most individuals have been white, so the findings may not apply to folks from different ethnic backgrounds.
Extra data:
Saloni Ghai et al, The Affiliation between Autism Spectrum Traits and Age-Associated Spatial Working Reminiscence Decline: A Massive-Scale Longitudinal Examine, The Gerontologist (2025). DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnaf096
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Autism not linked with elevated age-related cognitive decline, finds examine (2025, April 24)
retrieved 24 April 2025
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