Thalamic functional connectivity and its association with behavioral performance in older age
Aimée Goldstone1,2, Stephen D Mayhew1,2, Joanne R Hale1,2
1Centre for Human Brain Health University of Birmingham Birmingham UK.
Brain and Behavior
|April 20, 2018
Summary
Aging affects brain connectivity, with older adults showing altered thalamo-cortical and thalamo-hippocampal functional connectivity (FC). These changes are linked to slower reaction times and poorer visual-spatial memory, highlighting the thalamus' role in cognitive aging.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- The thalamus is crucial for information processing, connecting cortical and subcortical regions.
- Aging-related changes in thalamic connectivity are not well understood.
- Investigating thalamic functional connectivity (FC) is vital for understanding cognitive aging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how age impacts thalamo-cortical and thalamo-hippocampal FC.
- To associate these FC changes with visual-spatial memory and reaction time (RT) in older adults.
Main Methods:
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used on younger (n=20) and older (n=20) adults.
- Seed-based analysis assessed FC between the thalamus and sensory networks/hippocampus.
- Participants completed the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) for memory and RT assessment.
Main Results:
- Older adults showed reduced specificity in thalamo-cortical FC.
- Increased thalamo-motor FC correlated with faster RTs in older adults.
- Older adults had greater thalamo-hippocampal FC, particularly those with poorer visual-spatial memory.
Conclusions:
- Distinct patterns of thalamic FC exist between younger and older adults, and even within older adults based on performance.
- Thalamic connectivity plays a significant role in supporting reaction times and memory in aging.
- The thalamus is an important structure to consider in aging research for understanding behavioral associations.
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