First-Person Episodic Recall is Linked to Parietal Cortex Volume in Healthy Ageing

This study investigated the parietal neuroanatomical correlates of first-person versus third-person episodic recall in healthy ageing. To this end, we utilised voxel-based morphometry and a novel web-based 3D object location memory task that manipulated visual perspective during encoding and retrieval. Compared to healthy younger adults, older adults exhibited a greater deficit in first-person than third-person recall of object locations, irrespective of the original encoding perspective. In older adults, left angular gyrus and precuneus grey matter volume correlated positively with the adoption of a first-person recall perspective, though not with first-person recall more generally. The volume of these regions was additionally found to be reduced in older adults relative to younger adults. Together, these findings suggest that posterior parietal cortex atrophy may underpin relatively greater age-related difficulties in first-person perspective-taking during episodic memory retrieval.