As another major discovery, our results revealed the discrepant neural circuits within the identical brain network between temporary memory store and the stores for long-term retention in older adults. Correlation analysis between different memory measures and resting state brain activity of the DMN demonstrated that age-related variety of immediate and delayed memory abilities relied on partially dissociable neural underpinnings. IR was related to the regional coherence of spontaneous activity in the DMN, and DR depended on both regional fluctuations and interregional integration within the DMN. Although the DMN is engaged in episodic memory processing, its different role in IR and DR in older adults was previously unclear. As far as we know, this is the first study to show that the DMN plays different roles in memory across different retention intervals in older adults.
