Age-related disturbances in rest-activity rhythms and integrity of the hippocampal network: An exploratory study

To better understand the relationship between the rest-activity rhythms and cognitive impairments during aging, we assessed the longitudinal changes in the rest-activity rhythms in an elderly population and their possible detrimental effect on the hippocampal network. This was done longitudinally in a rural cohort with two actigraphic assessments and brain imaging examinations, seven years apart. A segmentation of the hippocampus and its related structures was used to assess volumes and functional connectivity in this network based on anatomical and resting state functional data. Regression models were carried out to investigate the potential association of the evolution of sleep and rest-activity rhythms parameters with the structural and functional integrity of the hippocampal network. Our sample was composed of 33 subjects aged 75.2 ± 2.4 years old at the first time point with 40% of women. After seven years, the sleep of our participants did not change but their rest-activity rhythms did (p < 0.05), with a decrease in relative amplitude (∂RA = -0.021) and stability (∂IS = -0.044) as well as an increase in fragmentation (∂IV = +0.072). The deterioration of rest-activity rhythms was correlated with a lower anterior hippocampal volume (p corrected <0.05) while no correlation with functional connectivity was observed. These findings suggest that a degradation of rest-activity rhythms in people over 70 years old could constitute a factor of hippocampal vulnerability. Preventive interventions should consider rest-activity rhythms in the oldest-old population.