Age-related changes in neural functional connectivity and its behavioral relevance
Winfried Schlee1, Vera Leirer, Iris-Tatjana Kolassa
1Clinical & Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany. Winfried.Schlee@uni-ulm.de
BMC Neuroscience
|February 16, 2012
Summary
Healthy aging alters brain connectivity, impacting cognitive function. Reduced information flow to the posterior cingulate/precuneus and increased flow to the medial temporal lobe correlate with cognitive performance changes in older adults.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Aging Research
Background:
- Resting-state brain activity involves widespread coherent networks.
- The default mode network is altered in neurodegenerative diseases.
- Age-related changes in healthy individuals' default mode network require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore age-related functional connectivity changes in the resting-state network.
- To investigate the association between these connectivity alterations and cognitive performance in healthy aging.
Main Methods:
- Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was used to record resting-state brain activity.
- A beamforming technique reconstructed brain activity in source space.
- Partial Directed Coherence (PDC) analyzed interregional functional connectivity.
Main Results:
- Significant age-related alterations in functional resting-state connectivity were identified.
- Reduced information input into the posterior cingulate/precuneus and increased flow to the medial temporal lobe were observed.
- Medial temporal lobe inflow correlated with weaker cognitive performance, while posterior cluster inflow correlated with better performance.
Conclusions:
- This study provides the first evidence of age-related alterations in resting-state network subsystems.
- These connectivity changes are associated with cognitive performance in healthy aging individuals.
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