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Abbiategrasso Brain Bank Protocol for Collecting, Processing and Characterizing Aging Brains
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Where the brain grows old: decline in anterior cingulate and medial prefrontal function with normal aging
José V Pardo1, Joel T Lee, Sohail A Sheikh
1Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA. jvpardo@umn.edu <jvpardo@umn.edu>
Neuroimage
|February 27, 2007
Summary
Normal aging causes reduced brain activity in specific medial networks, impacting cognitive functions like memory and attention. These brain changes mirror those seen in dementia, highlighting aging
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Cognitive Aging
Background:
- Healthy adults experience concerns regarding age-related declines in mental efficiency.
- Subjective reports often cite changes in mental flexibility, self-regulation, processing speed, and memory.
- Previous research suggests potential age-related alterations in brain function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate focal decreases in brain activity associated with normal aging.
- To identify specific brain networks affected by aging and their correlation with cognitive function.
- To compare age-related metabolic changes with those observed in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
Main Methods:
- Utilized fluorodeoxyglucose and positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) to measure brain activity.
- Analyzed brain metabolism in healthy adults across different age groups.
- Correlated metabolic changes in specific brain regions with cognitive performance measures.
Main Results:
- Identified focal decreases in brain activity with normal aging, particularly in a medial network.
- This medial network includes the anterior cingulate/medial prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial thalamus, and sugenual cingulate/basal forebrain.
- Declining metabolism in this network significantly correlated with declining cognitive function.
Conclusions:
- Medial prefrontal metabolic changes in aging are comparable in magnitude to hypometabolism in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
- Findings support the role of the anterior attention system's dysfunction in healthy elderly individuals.
- The interaction between attention (anterior cingulate cortex) and memory (medial temporal lobe) may underlie global cognitive impairment seen in dementia.
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