Age differences in functional connectivity and dedifferentiation of category representations
Claire Pauley1,2, Dagmar Zeithamova3, Myriam C Sander1
1Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|January 23, 2024
Summary
Neural dedifferentiation, a decline in distinct brain representations with age, is linked to changes in brain network organization. This study investigated how network segregation and connectivity relate to reduced neural distinctiveness in aging brains.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Aging
- Brain Network Analysis
Background:
- Advancing age is associated with a decline in the distinctiveness of neural representations, a phenomenon termed 'age-related neural dedifferentiation'.
- While regional dedifferentiation in category-selective areas is documented, the role of whole-brain network organization in this process remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether age-related differences in whole-brain network segregation and functional connectivity contribute to regional dedifferentiation of categorical representations.
- To explore the relationship between network organization and the distinctiveness of neural representations for faces and houses.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to scan younger and older adults viewing blocks of face and house stimuli.
- Analyses included assessing age differences in whole-brain network segregation and functional connectivity to category-selective regions.
- Interindividual correlations were performed to link regional distinctiveness with network segregation.
Main Results:
- An age-related decline in neural distinctiveness was observed for faces in the fusiform gyrus (FG) and for houses in the parahippocampal gyrus (PHG).
- Functional connectivity analyses revealed age-related dedifferentiation in global network structure.
- Significant age differences in connectivity were found between the FG and early visual cortices, and regional distinctiveness correlated with network segregation.
Conclusions:
- Dedifferentiation of categorical representations in aging is associated with age-related reorganization of functional brain networks.
- Changes in network segregation and connectivity may underlie the decline in neural distinctiveness observed in older adults.
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