Cingulate-centered large-scale networks: Normal functions, aging, and neurodegenerative disease

In this chapter, we review evidence from structural and functional neuroimaging in humans to consider the role of the cingulate cortex subregions (i.e., subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, anterior midcingulate cortex, and dorsal posterior cingulate cortex) as major hubs anchoring multiple large-scale brain networks. We begin with a review of evidence from intrinsic functional connectivity and diffusion tensor imaging studies to show how connections within and between cingulate-centered networks contribute to processing and integrating signals related to autonomic, affective, executive, and memory functions. We then consider how variability in cingulate-centered networks could contribute to a range of aging outcomes, including typical aging and unusually successful aging (dubbed "superaging"), as well as early neurodegenerative dementias, including frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease.