Repatriation is associated with isthmus cingulate cortex reduction in community-dwelling elderly
Raffaella Calati1,2,3, Jerome J Maller4,5, Chantal Meslin6
1a INSERM U1061, La Colombière Hospital, University of Montpellier UM1 , Montpellier , France.
Summary
A serious stressful life event, like repatriation, was linked to long-term brain changes in elderly individuals. Specifically, reduced volume in the isthmus cingulate cortex (ICC) was observed decades later.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Gerontology
Background:
- The long-term effects of stressful life events (SLEs) on brain anatomy are not well understood.
- Serious SLEs may have lasting neural consequences, particularly in brain regions associated with psychopathology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between a significant SLE (repatriation) and brain anatomy changes in an elderly population.
- To test if repatriation is linked to alterations in the hippocampus, amygdala, corpus callosum, prefrontal cortex, and cingulate cortex (ICC).
Main Methods:
- Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to scan 82 repatriated subjects and 339 controls.
- Quantitative regional brain volumes were estimated using FreeSurfer Software.
- The General Linear Model analyzed the association between repatriation and brain volume, controlling for confounders.
Main Results:
- Repatriation was associated with reduced brain volume in several regions.
- Only the left and right isthmus cingulate cortex (ICC) volumes remained significantly reduced after false discovery rate correction.
Conclusions:
- A serious SLE experienced approximately 40 years prior can be associated with long-term volume reduction in the ICC in the elderly.
- These brain volume changes appear to be independent of psychopathology.
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