{
  "abstract": "Episodic memory decline is a common feature of cognitively normal aging, but its extent varies markedly across individuals. Although entorhinal tau pathology is thought to be a key contributor to episodic memory impairment, the neural mechanisms linking early tau accumulation to memory differences remain unclear. Grid-cell computations in the entorhinal cortex, which provide scaffolds for organizing experiences into episodic memories, offer one candidate mechanism. Here, we combined virtual-reality functional MRI, multivariate analysis, tau PET, and delayed word-list recall in cognitively normal older adults to test whether tau-related alterations in entorhinal coding are associated with worse episodic memory. Weaker left entorhinal grid-cell-like signal was associated with poorer memory performance, and individuals with higher left entorhinal tau burden showed weaker grid-cell-like signal. This association was specific to the canonical six-fold signal and was not explained by entorhinal volume, mean diffusivity, or intracortical myelination. A cross-sectional Bayesian mediation analysis further demonstrated that bilateral medial temporal tau burden is related to memory indirectly through left entorhinal grid-cell-like signal. Together, these findings provide evidence that entorhinal grid codes may constitute a functional pathway linking tau accumulation to memory variability in normal aging.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 14,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "V. Segen"
    },
    {
      "name": "T. Belge Bernard"
    },
    {
      "name": "G. Callau Navarro"
    },
    {
      "name": "P. Bahrd"
    },
    {
      "name": "N. Behrenbruch"
    },
    {
      "name": "B. Schumann-Werner"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. Schwarck"
    },
    {
      "name": "B. Garcia-Garcia"
    },
    {
      "name": "H. Barthel"
    },
    {
      "name": "O. Sabri"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. C. Kreissl"
    },
    {
      "name": "E. Duzel"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Maass"
    },
    {
      "name": "T. Wolbers"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ecv51067tgd3j.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.08.26.747192",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.26.747192v1.full",
  "id": "ecv51067tgd3j",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.26.747192v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Memory and Neural Mechanisms"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7204950661",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.26.747192v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-08-26",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ecv51067tgd3j.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:06Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.08.26.747192",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.26.747192v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Entorhinal grid coding as a functional link between tau accumulation and episodic memory in human aging",
  "title_text": "Entorhinal grid coding as a functional link between tau accumulation and episodic memory in human aging",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:06Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ecv51067tgd3j",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}