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Dopamine and frontostriatal networks in cognitive aging
Ellen C Klostermann1, Meredith N Braskie, Susan M Landau
1Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3190, USA. eklostermann@berkeley.edu
Neurobiology of Aging
|April 23, 2011
Summary
Brain connectivity and dopamine synthesis capacity decline with age, impacting verbal working memory. This study reveals how these factors interact in younger and older adults.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Gerontology
Background:
- Dopamine is linked to behavior and brain activity.
- Aging affects cognitive functions like working memory.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between frontostriatal functional connectivity, dopamine synthesis capacity, and verbal working memory performance in younger and older adults.
- To explore age-related differences in these systems.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure frontostriatal functional connectivity during a verbal working memory task.
- Positron emission tomography with 6-[(18)F]-fluoro-L-m-tyrosine (FMT) assessed caudate dopamine synthesis capacity.
- 12 young and 18 older adults participated in the study.
Main Results:
- Younger adults exhibited greater frontal-caudate functional connectivity during the working memory task compared to older adults.
- Frontostriatal functional connectivity was negatively correlated with dopamine synthesis capacity across all participants.
- Higher functional connectivity correlated positively with better working memory performance.
Conclusions:
- Interdependencies exist between frontostriatal functional connectivity, dopamine synthesis, and working memory.
- Normal aging is associated with suboptimal functioning of this frontostriatal-dopamine-working memory system.
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