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White matter changes compromise prefrontal cortex function in healthy elderly individuals.

Christine Wu Nordahl1, Charan Ranganath, Andrew P Yonelinas

  • 1University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. crswu@ucdavis.edu

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
|March 4, 2006
PubMed
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White matter degeneration, marked by white matter hyperintensities (WMH), is linked to reduced prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity in older adults. This disruption may explain age-related memory changes.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Gerontology
  • Radiology

Background:

  • Age-related memory decline is often linked to prefrontal cortex (PFC) dysfunction.
  • Disruption of white matter tracts connecting the PFC may underlie this dysfunction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test if white matter degeneration predicts reduced prefrontal activation in elderly individuals.
  • To examine the association between white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and PFC activity during memory tasks.

Main Methods:

  • Used structural MRI to quantify WMH in cognitively normal elderly individuals.
  • Assessed PFC activity using fMRI during episodic retrieval and verbal working memory tasks.
  • Investigated the impact of WMH in dorsal PFC regions on functional connectivity.

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Main Results:

  • Increased global and dorsal PFC WMH volume correlated with decreased PFC activity.
  • Dorsal PFC WMH were associated with reduced activity in medial temporal and anterior cingulate regions during episodic retrieval.
  • Dorsal PFC WMH also linked to decreased activity in posterior parietal and anterior cingulate cortex during working memory.

Conclusions:

  • White matter tract disruption, particularly in the PFC, may be a key mechanism for age-related memory impairment.
  • WMH serve as a marker for white matter degeneration impacting PFC function and connectivity.