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Related Experiment Videos

The BOLD hemodynamic response in healthy aging.

Howard J Aizenstein1, Kristi A Clark, Meryl A Butters

  • 1University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA, USA. aizen+@pitt.edu

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
|June 18, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies show elderly individuals may exhibit more unconstrained visual processing. This highlights the importance of region-of-interest selection in fMRI research with aging populations.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroimaging
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Aging Research

Background:

  • Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies report conflicting findings on blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) hemodynamic response (HDR) amplitude differences between young and elderly subjects in the visual cortex.
  • Discrepancies may arise from group-averaged region-of-interest (ROI) analyses that include less significant or negative-peaking voxels, potentially obscuring true group differences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the hypothesis that differences in BOLD HDR between young and elderly subjects are influenced by voxel selection criteria within ROIs.
  • To examine the impact of including low-significance and negative-peaking voxels on group comparisons of BOLD HDR.

Main Methods:

  • Event-related fMRI was employed during a visual and motor task (finger tapping).

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  • Data from 18 subjects (8 young, 10 elderly) were analyzed.
  • Individual subject ROIs were defined using the most significant positive voxels to exclude low-significance and negative-peaking voxels.

    • Main Results:

    • Both elderly and young subjects exhibited similar peak BOLD HDR amplitudes in visual and motor regions.
    • Elderly subjects showed a more sustained BOLD response in both regions.
    • A higher percentage of voxels with a negative HDR was observed in the visual cortex of elderly subjects, consistent with reanalysis of independent data.

    Conclusions:

    • Individual subject ROI selection, excluding non-significant and negative voxels, reveals similar peak BOLD HDRs between young and elderly individuals.
    • Elderly individuals may exhibit increased unconstrained visual processing during rest periods in fMRI scans.
    • ROI selection methodology significantly impacts the interpretation of fMRI findings in aging populations, emphasizing the need for careful criteria.